Floating generation

Margaret Thatcher’s ambition to create a “home-owning democracy” was not just about bricks and mortar. The sale of council houses in the Eighties was intended to give people who would otherwise spend their lives renting from their council a direct financial stake in the community. One of the more pernicious aspects of the difficulties many younger people face today in buying their own home is the impact on social cohesion.

Overall home ownership is now around 63 per cent of the adult population, the lowest since 1985. A report from the Office for National Statistics has found that a generation of lonely young people unable to get on the housing ladder do not feel part of their communities. The group aged between 16 and 34 was identified as “younger renters with little trust and sense of belonging to their area”.

Is this a function of home ownership or of the way we now live? In historical terms, while ownership is much lower than in the Eighties, it is far higher than before the Second World War, when it was around 25 per cent. There was a greater sense of community then than there is now. Ownership levels did not reach 50 per cent until 1970. Moreover, people are encouraged to believe that they can own a house in their twenties, whereas previous generations often waited much longer. In addition, younger people have always been over-represented in the private rented sector, though the proportion has doubled since 2005.

Housing unaffordability is affecting young people, especially in London and the South East. But can we blame this for the breakdown of communities, when so many other factors are in play?