We can build affordable homes — if there is the political will to do it
Rohan Silva
MY WIFE and I are trying to have a baby at the moment, which involves endless trips to the hospital for tests and s c a ns, a nd l ot s of s t re s s a nd anxiety all round. But what’s really scary is that if we do strike lucky and get pregnant we’ll need to find an affordable place to live in London with a child.
Like millions of Londoners we live in a rented flat and don’t have family money to help with a deposit, so we’re probably going to be renting for a good while yet.
Having lived in several rented places, I’ve seen how precarious leases can be. If the landlord decides to sell the property, or just wants you to leave, you have to go. This is difficult enough if you’re single, but truly horrible with a family.
My dream is to own a home — a place where no one can kick you out as long as you pay your mortgage. But as we all know, for many young people in our city this ambition is increasingly out of reach.
Over the past five years house prices have risen six times faster than average wages. No wonder only a quarter of 20- to 39-year-old Londoners expect to own their own home by 2025.
What’s so sad is that this housing crisis could easily have been avoided. The reason there’s a problem is that not enough housing is being built to keep pace with demand, so prices have skyrocketed.
And why isn’t enough housing being built? Bec ause the hideously bureaucratic planning system means it can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds — and take several years — to g e t p e r mi s s i o n for new housing developments in London. The statistics speak for themselves. In the first three months of this year councils a c ro s s L o n d o n granted planning permission for just 4,320 homes — less than a quarter of those needed.
It’s a disgrace, but because senior politicians own property they have no real incentive to fix the system.
Action on planning isn’t the only thing that should be done — there are plenty of other policies that would help. Take community land trusts, for exa mple, a n a f f o rd a b l e model o f home-ownership in US cities from Seattle to New York.
The way CLTs work is simple: when you buy one of the homes, you sign a contract ensuring that you can only sell the property at a price pegged to local incomes, meaning that the homes are permanently affordable.
As Calum Green of the London CLT organisation puts it: “Community land trusts provide a way for all Londoners, regardless of background, to have the comfort and stability of owning their own home in this city.”
Later this month families in Mile End will be moving into the capital’s first CLT, where homes were available to buy for a third of the open-market value: £ 1 3 0,0 0 0 for a one-bed apartment and three beds for £235,000. What’s needed now are CLTs in every corner of the city, which could be created whenever Transport for London land is available.
If we could fix the planning system and get CLTs built throughout London, it would make a huge difference to people’s lives. As someone desperate to become a father, I can only hope that change happens soon. Sadly, I doubt that will be the case.