The term â€affordable housing’ has traditionally promoted social rented housing and conjures up images of grim, sub-standard council houses. Today, â€affordable housing’ encompasses a wide range of choices to suit varying personal, financial circumstances and is associated with shared ownership, part buy part rent, rent to buy and shared equity properties. Shared equity was introduced 31 years ago and has been very successful. It is similar to shared ownership as it is still a form of affordable housing to help certain people onto to the property ladder. Backed by the Government’s own shared equity scheme called Homebuy Direct †it is a serious alternative for the British population to move into decent housing: housing they can potentially afford and enjoy living in, rather than just housing that they can cope with. In what is supposed to be a new age for British politics, an age of social responsibility and inclusion, the drastic inequalities present in the housing market are more than just aggravations. The figures alone show that house prices have continued to rise beyond the means of nearly all of the UK’s residents who have lower income in compared to others, with average house prices over the last 12 months staying stubbornly at over 200,000 †that’s an average of 10 times more than the median annual earning for a UK citizen. The current housing market has deterred many people from buying a house outright and people are demanding alternative options. However, the supply of affordable housing and shared equity properties is an issue that must be addressed by the Government if the average British person, the person for whom affordable housing was created, and to whom the chance of shared ownership housing should be given as a matter of course are finding it difficult to achieve this aspiration. As the new government has scrapped central planning targets and given control back to the local authorities, the provision of new housing in many areas is become a lesser priority and plans are put on hold. Providing affordable houses and backing the construction industry is a trick being missed by the government, in its drive to develop a new and inclusive society †and it’s a trick that could ultimately be the downfall of all the big ideas we’ve heard so much about in recent months. It is detrimental to developers who are unable to build more houses and keep people employed and without genuine affordable housing, without shared equity homes that are available and meaningful then people have no incentive to change their way of lives. They’re better off where they are †on the fringes, living off the council. It’s time for change.
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