England ‘behind international peers’ on decent housing - claim

Homes in England are less affordable and in worse condition than those in most other developed nations, new research claims.

Analysis from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) – the representative body of the home building industry in England and Wales – reveals the full extent of the difficulties facing people in Britain trying to find somewhere to live that is decent and affordable.

Using data collated from the Office for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Union, and the UK Government, the report warns that England’s severe shortage of housing has made it the most difficult place in the developed world to find a home, with the lowest rate of available properties per member of the population of all OECD nations

England has the highest proportion of inadequate housing in Europe, with 15% of all existing homes not meeting the Decent Homes Standard and more substandard homes than Hungary, Poland and Lithuania, according to the research.

The UK has some of the oldest housing stock in the developed world with only 7% of British homes built after 2001, far less than other countries like Spain, with 18.5%, and Portugal, with 16%, the HBF said.

The analysis shows that record-breaking house building of 320,000 homes per year – nearly 100,000 more than current delivery – would be required for England to provide homes for its population in line with the benchmark for developed nations worldwide, the OECD.

Stewart Basely, executive chairman of the HBF, said: “It is widely acknowledged that Britain’s housing is in crisis, but this research shows just how badly we are falling behind our international peers.

“Decades of housing undersupply has produced startling consequences for people up and down the country looking for a decent home.

“Home builders, want to be able to deliver new, high quality, energy efficient homes which will help solve our country’s housing crisis, and they expanded investment over the past decade. Sadly, developers are still too often hampered by a restrictive planning system, an anti-development mindset and short-term politics trumping the needs of communities

“The country is in dire need of more high quality and energy efficient new homes. With an election looming and manifestos being considered, today’s research should act as a wake-up call, demonstrating the urgent need to act now to prevent us falling even further behind.”