I’m a proud Londoner and have lived all over the place since moving to London in 2001. I’ve lived south and north and even east! I’ve been lucky to live with friends, friends of friends and strangers who have become friends. My accommodation has ranged from damp basement flats in Tufnell Park, to roomy flats above an off licence in West Dulwich, a respectable house in Tooting, a tiny flat in Whitechapel, a room in a house in Clapham Common and our first home in Dartmouth Park.
Rent has always taken a huge portion of my wages and I found it really hard to find somewhere decent to live where I also felt safe. There was never any chance I could afford to get a step on the housing ladder on my own. There’s a complete shortage of affordable homes for Londoners who are priced out of home ownership and are forced to compete to rent run-down properties for silly prices.
I find it strange that housing doesn’t seem very high on the agenda for the Mayor of London but the next Mayor will get new powers to fix our housing. We’ve already got Transport for London. Now the Mayor must create Homes for London and fix London’s housing problem. The issue really does affect everyone from single Londoners, young families like my own (who can’t afford a bigger house without moving out of London completely) to older parents whose children can’t afford to move out when they hit their 20s.
The third Mayoral elections are on May 3rd. Will you be telling the next Mayor to Create Homes for London?
A fantastic video that highlights the issue of affordable homes in the UK. Unfortunately we now have a generation of renters who are unlikely to ever own a home. This lack of stability prevents community growth as well as putting a strain on rental property demand further increasing rent prices.
There are independent not-for-profit housing associations available, like Affinity Sutton, that are helping to close the gap between renters and first time buyers.