Mass exodus of London, warns charity

Tuesday, 6 March 2012 2:11 PM

The high cost of housing in London could see 30 per cent of the city’s population leave the capital, according to housing and homelessness charity Shelter.

As part of the charity’s Homes for London campaign research has been completed on the affordability of housing in London.

The results show that almost one third of people living in London believe growing housing costs will drive them out of the city.

Of those who rent, a whopping 65 per cent believe they will never be able to afford a home in London.

“Decades of failure to build enough affordable housing has left huge swathes of Londoners locked out of home ownership, pushed into a revolving door of private let after private let,” Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said.

Shelter found that the average deposit required for a first-home in London is £85,000.

But the median wage of people living in the capital city is only £24,500.

While these people save their pennies they are being forced to spend more than £1,300 per month to rent a two bedroom property, this is more than double the national average.

“Unless something is done to fix London’s housing, we’re going to see a growing exodus of people, many of them families, who have simply given up hope of ever finding a stable and affordable place to live in the capital,” Mr Robb said.

The charity is aiming its campaign for better housing options in the city at the London mayoral election candidates, click here to find out more.
 

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