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78% of young Londoners say government is failing on affordable housing delivery
Over three-quarters of young Londoners believe the government is failing on affordable housing delivery, a new study has found.
A new poll of the capital’s residents by developer Pocket Living also found that 25% of key workers could leave London this year in search of more affordable housing.
Pocket Living, which delivers new homes across the capital for first-time buyers living or working in London, has surveyed more than 1,000 Londoners aged between 25 and 45 as part of an annual survey to understand the pros and cons of London living.
Of those surveyed, 78% said they felt the current government was not doing enough for affordable homes in London.
The poll came after City Hall revealed that as of September 2023, no new affordable homes have been started under the latest round of the capital’s £4bn Affordable Homes Programme, despite the money being allocated by central government two years ago.
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The Greater London Authority has now lowered its targets for new affordable starts by a third, from 35,000 to 23,900.
Pocket Living’s research also found that almost a quarter (22%) of non-homeowners under 45 are considering leaving London over the next 12 months.
Almost all (96%) believed that housing is a crucial or important issue for politicians to focus on ahead of the next general election.
A total of 67% would vote for a candidate at the next election promoting more housing delivery, regardless of their political stance. This figure increased to 73% for those aged between 25 and 29.
Two in three (66%) respondents said they were willing to support solutions, such as building on the green belt, to provide new housing.
A majority (65%) of those surveyed said they will never be able to buy their own home in London, while just over one in 10 (13%) said they intended to buy over the next 12 months – down from one in five in 2021.
Almost two-fifths of renters said they would continue to need some financial support from their parents over the next 10 years, while 60% of homeowners said they would not have been able to buy without support from their parents, up from 49% in 2021.
Marc Vlessing, chief executive officer of Pocket Living, said: “Without urgent intervention to enhance housing solutions, the capital could see many hard-working city makers, [who are] essential to our growing economy, pack their bags and leave.
“Next year’s elections might be one of the first times where this demographic out votes the boomer generation, with those aged between 25 to 45 making up over 30% of the population both in London and the rest of England.
“Winning over this demographic will be critical to the success of any political entity, and our research suggests ambitious housing policies, such as greenbelt reform, could be the tipping point.”
The survey results echo similar findings released by Pocket Living around a year ago, where 77% of those surveyed said that the government is not helping to make London affordable as a place to live.
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