Zoe McKendree: “You can’t really introduce yourself better for an interview if you sleep on a friend’s sofa”
Hope to buy a house? You will have to overcome the huge housing gap in the United Kingdom.
The researchers used recent study averages to estimate the possible extent of the current shortage, which will grow as the UK population increases.
This gap – the difference between the current housing stock and the number needed for everyone to have a decent home to live in – is more than a million homes, according to the BBC Housing Briefing.
Much pressure from the gap falls on people who rent privately.
Zoe McKendree, 33, spends more than a third of her rent pay for her shared flat in Brixton, South London.
He dreams of the keys to a house of his own, but that is a distant perspective.
Instead, he had to deal with what he said were “insensitive” owners and rising costs.
He also experienced numerous guilt-free evictions, in which private landlords evict tenants in a short time for no good reason.
Zoe says, “I can’t do things like buy a car, which I would really like. I can’t move. I have yet to be shared.
“I also continue to be evicted because of me, and every time it costs me over a thousand pounds. So every time I save money, that I could put in a deposit, it’s gone.”
The government has said it intends to ban guilt-free evictions in England.
In a survey of over 2,000 people for the Affordable Housing Commission, 13% of adults said their mental health was affected by their housing situation.
Looking only at those in cheap housing – which cost more than a third of the income – has raised more concern.
25% of the sample said they suffered from mental health. They are potentially millions of people.
Despite having a good job with a charity, Zoe believes that her quality of life hasn’t improved since her 20 years.
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The BBC Housing Briefing estimates that we have built 1.2 million fewer houses than we should have
He adds: “It makes me feel really anxious – it made me very depressed. It made it really difficult to look for work because I had so much of my mental time worrying about where I would live.
“You can’t really introduce yourself better for an interview if you sleep on a friend’s sofa and you are really worried about becoming homeless.”
Behind the stress there is a shortage of places to live.
The BBC Housing Briefing estimates that we have built 1.2 million fewer houses than we should have and that the need for more houses is increasing.
Calculations suggest that it will take at least 15 years at current construction rates to bridge the gap, and what is being built is not convenient enough.
“Very rarely do I spend anything on myself”
Hannah Clark of Oxfordshire, now 32, has been saving since she was 14 in the hope of being able to deposit a deposit on something affordable.
After his father had a stroke, he realized as a teenager that there would be no help from mom and dad’s bank.
“Very rarely even now I spend something on myself,” he says.
“There is a sense of guilt because I have to spare a roof over my head. I have to have security for my future.”
Unlike Zoe, Hannah lived for rent free of charge with family members, currently her sister, while putting money aside.
Sounds like an easier way, but Hannah says her mental health has been compromised.
“If you live under someone else’s roof you are constantly under their rules and therefore you cannot have a real relationship with anyone. You cannot invite them back,” he explains.
“He is lonely enough, there is a lot of pressure.”
Hannah Clark started saving for a house when she was 14 years old
The Affordable Housing Commission found that over half of 18-24 year olds live with their family and 18% still do so between the ages of 25 and 34.
At the same time, government statistics show that the number of young adults living with parents is increasing.
Hannah managed to build a nest egg and aims to use it for storage in a small studio apartment.
He worked for a publishing house and ran a small business selling illustrations.
But he says the challenge of getting his home has been constant stress.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Since 2010, this government has delivered over 464,000 new affordable homes, including 114,000 social housing. In addition, the waiting list for social housing has declined. 40% since 2012.
“Last year we delivered more houses than any other in the past 30 years and committed ourselves to delivering a million more to this parliament.
“We have also abolished the council’s debt limit so that local authorities can continue building more social housing, giving families the opportunity to find a safe and secure place.”
For more information on the UK housing system, download the new BBC Housing Briefing.