Parents fear children will be locked out of home towns

Parents in the South West fear their children will be locked out of their home towns in future as house prices and rents continue to rise. 

According to figures from a new YouGov poll for the National Housing Federation, 72 per cent of English parents are worried about rising rent levels and 81 per cent about rising house prices and the impact of both on the next generation. Of those in the South West, over a third (39 per cent) believe it is unlikely their youngsters will have the chance to rent or buy a home in the area where they have grown up.

This comes as figures from Government the cost of renting privately in the region has risen nearly six per cent in the last two years, with the average monthly rent now hitting £684. Prices have risen even more dramatically in some parts of the region with average rents in Bristol up from £731 in 2011 to £826, a staggering 13 per cent increase.

London parents are even more worried about their children’s opportunities to live in their local area, with over half (52 per cent) believing it’s unlikely their offspring will be able to afford a home there. This is followed by four in ten parents in the South East and West Midlands (44 percent and 41 percent respectively).

The poll also revealed that more than two thirds of parents (69 per cent) overall fear children won’t be able to afford a home in future without their financial support.

Jenny Allen, external affairs manager for the South West at the National Housing Federation, said: “Parents should look forward to a bright and prosperous future for their children but are worried that they will end up being worse off than them.

“Are we really ok with the idea of some of our towns and cities being priced beyong the pay packets of young people? How will our communities survive if young peole can’t afford to live there? This is the situation we’re facing if we don’t tackle the housing crisis.

“It’s taken a generation to create this broken housing market and will take us a generation to get out of it. We’re calling on all  political parties to commit to to end the housing crisis within a generation to ensure the situation doesn’t continue to worsen leaving our children to deal with the consequces. We want the next government to publish a long-term plan within a year of taking office that sets out how they will achieve this."