Lack of Mobility Costs £542m a Year

Social tenants’ inability to move home is costing the UK’s economy at least £542 million each year, according to a report from a think tank. Counting the Costs, a report commissioned by Circle Anglia, estimates that 495,000 of the 3.9 million social households in the UK want to move home, but are unable to do so for a number of reasons, including a fall in the number of available lettings and a rise in the number of families on waiting lists for social housing. Over the past 13 years, there has been a 66 per cent decline in the availability of new lettings to existing tenants, while one in 12 households in England are now on waiting lists. The report breaks down the £542 million annual cost into £305 million lost as a result of tenants not being able to care for their relatives, an additional £81 million cost to the NHS caused by unsuitable housing, £48 million on welfare payments and lost tax revenues from tenants wanting to take up employment but unable to do so, £32 million on educational under-attainment and £58 million to the criminal justice system. Download a copy of the report from the Circle Anglia website.