A report says that Britain’s housing is “expensive and cramped” with an ageing population. It offers the lowest value for money among advanced economies.
According to a study by Resolution Foundation, people in England live in smaller homes on average than in France, Germany, and Japan. Housing costs in the UK are nearly 40% higher than those of comparable countries.
The foundation called the situation a “crisis”, and warned that the major political parties should put policies to combat the problem at the forefront of their agendas during the next elections.
The report compared British Housing with 37 other industrialised nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The report said that the homes in the UK are smaller and older, as well as being less affordable compared to those in other comparable countries. It found, for example, that the average home in England has a floor area of 38 square meters per person, compared to 66 square metres in the US, and 46 square metres in Germany, as well as 40 square meters in Japan.
London had a floor area of 33 square meters, which was the same as Tokyo, and 44 square metres less than New York.
The UK has the oldest housing in Europe with 38% of all homes dating back to 1946. This compares with 21% in Italy and 11% in Spain. The foundation noted that these homes were often poorly insulated which led to higher energy costs and dampness.
It said: “Given the fact that older properties were built when environmental standards either were non-existent or were far weaker today than they are now, it’s not surprising that UK homes perform badly when compared to their European counterparts when it comes energy efficiency.”
In the report, it was also stated that the UK had the lowest housing consumption as a percentage of their income. This was due to the high cost of housing in the UK, which again made it difficult for people to afford.
Housing affordability in Britain is lower than the rest of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Researchers used rental values to ensure that they were comparing countries accurately. Only Australia and Switzerland were more expensive in monetary terms. However, their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was higher, which led to higher prices for all goods.
After adjusting for this, the UK had the highest house prices.
The report stated: “If every household in the UK was fully exposed to the housing market they would be required to spend 22 percent of their income on housing services. This is higher than the OECD’s average (17%) and higher than any other developed economy with the exception of Finland.
Adam Corlett is the principal economist of the Resolution Foundation. He said that although housing is a major issue in many countries, the data suggests the UK has the worst problem.
Resolution Foundation: The UK housing crisis is a result of decades of neglect, says the Resolution Foundation
He said that “Britain appears to be one of many nations in the middle of a housing crises and it is difficult to separate rhetoric and reality.”
The UK housing stock is the most expensive and cramped in advanced economies.
The housing crisis in Britain has been brewing for decades, with successive governments failing both to build new homes and modernise the existing stock. “That now has to be changed.”
Labour has pledged to place housing as the top priority of its agenda, if it wins at the next elections — making it more difficult for residents to stop developments.
Conservatives have also pledged to build more houses in Britain’s major cities. They argue that this will increase the supply of housing where it is most needed. The Conservatives are expected to announce new plans to assist first-time homebuyers in getting on the housing ladder.
” Housing is a priority for the government and we are on track to deliver one million homes in this Parliament despite the global economic challenges. We have also introduced reforms for the planning system,” said a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Our landmark Renters Reform Bill, which is currently being debated in parliament, will provide tenants with more security and comfort in their home. In addition, our £11.5billion investment in affordable homes and £1.2billion local authority housing fund are helping to build a new and affordable generation of social and affordable housing.