The Government has acknowledged that Britain has not been building sufficient housing “for decades”. The housing charity Shelter estimates that 400,000 households live in overcrowded homes.
According to a recent Ipsos MORI poll, 80% of Britons agree that Britain is in the midst of a housing crisis.
The number of new starts increased slightly over the previous year. According to the figures, seasonally adjusted house-building starts in England numbered 26,830 in the December quarter 2012, 1 per cent higher than the previous quarter.
Due to a lack of available housing, many people are struggling to find affordable accommodation. Stagnant wages, high house prices, and high deposit requirements for mortgages mean that fewer people can afford to buy homes. As a result, demand for rented accommodation is set to increase dramatically over the coming years.
Nick Cuff, development manager at Essential Living, said:
“We’re unlocking large sums from our investment partners to create a vital new source of housing supply. There is an overwhelming need for new homes and build-to-let has a key role to play in this.
The win-win for government is having professionally managed rental homes where the investor takes a long-term interest in the community. We’re glad that policy-makers have recognised this opportunity.”
