The housing shortage

Abstract

This chapter explains how the housing shortage has become a numbers game played by Government. Rather than focusing on the fundamental housing crisis issues of affordability, quality and good planning, it has made the supply of private housing numbers the key objective, even though in this objective it has failed. Supported by data on declining affordability, and spiraling rents and prices, the chapter argues that the diversity and affordability of supply is nowhere near matching the diversity of need. The social housing stock has fallen sharply because of Right to Buy and Buy to Let and lack of new social house building. The concept of affordable housing has become meaningless because of the way Government has defined it.