81% of renters in the South West are unable to purchase a property over the next five years

Four out of five (81%) renters in the South West are unable to purchase a property over the next five years, according to the Affordable Housing Commission. Using the new approach set out in its recent report: ‘Defining and measuring housing affordability – an alternative approach’, it reveals that 430,000 households in the South West are living in unaffordable housing, a total of 18% of households in the region.

In wake of these findings, the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) along with the Affordable Housing Commission, will be hosting free training events for councils across the country to support them in securing more genuinely affordable and decent-quality homes.

The Affordable Housing Commission is chaired by Lord Richard Best and was established by the independent think tank the Smith Institute, with the support of the Nationwide Foundation. In its report, the Commission launched a new measure of housing ‘affordability’, looking at it in the context of household incomes and what people can afford, be it to rent or to buy, rather than the market place which focuses on market rents and house prices.

The report shows that when rents or purchase costs exceed a third (33%) of household income for those in work, it can lead to financial difficulties, arrears, debts and consequent personal problems. And these problems become critical where housing costs are 40% or more of household income.

The training events are part of the TCPA’s ‘Planning for Affordable Housing’ project, supported by the Nationwide Foundation, and delivered in partnership with the Affordable Housing Commission and Homes England. These events will help councillors and officers learn from good practice in securing mixed communities through the planning system and build on the new guidance for councils launched by TCPA in early April 2019.

The training session, held at Exeter Community Centre on June 26th, will cover the opportunities and barriers in the planning system to delivering genuinely affordable homes, skills and capacity building, and options available in lower-value areas.

Joe Caluori, Deputy Director at the Smith Institute, comments: “For too long the problem of unaffordable housing has not been addressed. The training sessions we are providing across the country with the TCPA will aim to change this. The session in Exeter will give councillors and local government officials the knowledge and skills they need to build affordable housing into their long-term strategies. Radical solutions are needed for this problem, which is only getting worse.”

Henry Smith, Policy and Projects Manager at the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), said: “That 18% of households in the South West are living in unaffordable housing, tells us that far more needs to be done across the country to increase the stock of affordable housing. We are therefore bringing together councillors and officers across the country, to ensure they have the tools needed to prepare and implement plans to help provide affordable housing and to improve local communities”.

To read the TCPA’s guidance for councils: ‘Planning for Affordable Housing’ visit https://www.tcpa.org.uk/planning-for-affordable-housing-2019

To read the Affordable Housing Commission’s report ‘Defining and measuring housing affordability – an alternative approach’, visit: https://www.affordablehousingcommission.org/news/2019/6/6/defining-and-measuring-housing-affordability-an-alternative-approach