One-bed homes unaffordable for newly qualified nurses in half of English council areas

It found that London and the South East were the most unaffordable for key workers, with the average rent for a one bedroom home unaffordable for newly qualified nurses in 93% of these council areas.

In addition, private rented homes are unaffordable in 43% of England for new teachers and in 69% of areas for a healthcare assistant in the NHS.

By contrast, social rented homes are affordable in 100% of the country for NHS key workers and teachers.

London has the highest nursing vacancy rate of any region in England, at 7.8% in the third quarter of 2023-24. London also has the highest vacancy rate for all NHS staff, at 8.7%.

An additional YouGov poll for Shelter of 2,023 private renters found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of key workers who are renting privately are struggling or behind on their rent.

Nearly half (47%) are one pay cheque away from homelessness, and one in five (21%) have skipped meals or cut back on food to pay rent in the last month.

Shelter urged the government to use the Spending Review in June to make a “significant investment” in social housing to build 90,000 social rent homes a year for 10 years.

It said this investment would reduce government spending on housing benefit by £4.5bn in the long term, and support 140,000 jobs and £3.8bn in income from employment taxes.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “A strong economy relies on essential workers having stable, genuinely affordable homes within their communities. But without enough social housing, nurses, teachers and other key workers are being priced out, making it harder for hospitals, schools and local businesses to find and keep staff.

“For decades, we’ve lost more social homes than we’ve built, while sinking money into temporary solutions and so-called affordable homes that aren’t truly affordable for people on lower incomes. As a result, families are pushed into extortionate and unstable private renting, or into homelessness, driving them out of their local areas, away from their jobs, schools and support networks.

“Social homes are vital for the economy and the only lasting solution to the housing emergency, but there’s nowhere near enough of them. The government must use the June Spending Review to invest in 90,000 social homes a year for 10 years. Ambitious investment would boost jobs, give people security and end homelessness for good.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We have inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory, with rent levels unaffordable for far too many, including public sector workers.

“Our Renters’ Rights Bill will fundamentally reform the private rented sector by empowering tenants to tackle unreasonable rent hikes, banning unfair bidding wars and stopping landlords from demanding large amounts of rent in advance.

“We will also build 1.5 million homes and have injected an extra £800m for the Affordable Homes Programme this year to help deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housing in a generation.”