Owning a home 'a pipe dream for public sector workers' claims union

Owning a home has become almost impossible for many public sector workers across Britain, according to research from the union UNISON.

Getting a deposit together and obtaining a mortgage are often insurmountable hurdles for those living in the majority of areas across England, Scotland and Wales, according to the findings.

A report by the union, called Priced Out, highlights how saving the money for a down payment on a property would take decades for many – or more than a century for public sector staff in some parts of London. 

This is based on first-time buyers being able to save £100 every month for a 15 per cent deposit.

The research focused on the salaries for employees in five jobs – an NHS cleaner, teaching assistant, librarian, nurse and police community support officer. It calculated what multiple of their annual income they would need to borrow for a mortgage once they had paid a deposit.

Across all nine English regions, Wales, and Scotland it would take a minimum of 14 years to save the required deposit for a first time buyer property, and considerably longer if house prices continue to rise, claims the report.

However, in London it would take between 132 years (in Kensington and Chelsea) and 35 years (in Barking and Dagenham) to find the money, while it would take 32 years to save the necessary deposit in the broader South East England region.

It says an NHS cleaner in London earning £21,786 a year would need to borrow on average 16.5 times their salary to secure a mortgage for a first-time buyer property.

A teaching assistant earning £19,446 a year in the South East would need to apply to borrow more than 11 times their annual wage, and in the East of England a PCSO on £23,346 would need nearly nine times their pay.

For a PCSO, the North East is the only region where a mortgage and owning their own home is a possibility. A librarian or a nurse could only do this in the North East or Scotland.

“Owning a home is now little more than a pipe dream for most public sector workers. Deposits and mortgages are quite simply way out of reach, while the spiralling cost of renting is eating up a growing proportion of the take home pay of working people across Britain. Wage rises haven’t kept pace with soaring house prices and rents, and the situation looks set to worsen” claims UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis. 

“The struggle for housing cuts across generations, jobs and regions. Employees are being forced to work further away from their jobs, and young people cannot afford to move out of the family home” he continues.

“The government has had more wake-up calls over the growing housing crisis than hot dinners. Decisive, creative and responsible action is needed now.”