Mismatch Between Wages And House Prices Increases

Airline pilots,flight engineers, electronics engineers, rubber process operatives, energy plant operatives, and merchandisers and window dressers all have seen housing affordability improve over the past five years. These account for just 2 per cent of occupations. The figures, compiled by mortgage broker Private Finance and based on information from the Office for National Statistics, highlight the growing mismatch between wage rises and house price increases. While average earnings grew by just 9 per cent from 2011 to 2016, the average house price soared by 26.7 per cent, meaning the number of years’ earnings required to afford the average home increased from eight to 9.2. Read more on the FT Adviser.

Will the Bedroom Tax Hit Northerners the Hardest?

The government's under-occupation penalty, known to many as the bedroom tax, was brought in under the banner that it would tackle overcrowding and bring down the benefits bill. Yet when you look closely at the realities of this one-size-fits all policy, the rhetoric starts to unravel. It won't save the taxpayer money or solve the housing crisis. And it will disproportionately affect the north of England.  According to the government's own data, families with a spare room outnumber overcrowded families by three to one in the north of England. If the point of the bedroom tax is to solve the problem of overcrowding, thousands will be hit by the bedroom tax despite there being no local need for them to move.  Take Redcar and Cleveland in the north-east as an example. Local housing association Coast & Country has 1,800 households who are currently under-occupying their properties and looking for a smaller home, but they only have two one-bedroom homes available on their books which these people could move into. If these residents moved into smaller privately rented homes it would cost the taxpayer an extra £470,000 a year. Read more on the Guardian website.

Figures Reveal Cruel Truth of Bedroom Tax Says Liam Byrne

Figures released by the Labour Party have revealed the stark disparity at the heart of the Bedroom Tax with tens of thousands of affected families expected to chase less than 4,000 suitable properties. Compiled as a result of Freedom of Information requests to 37 local authorities showed 96,041 families will be hit by the Bedroom Tax. But the figures show there are only 3,688 one- and two-bedroom council properties available for families who wanted to move to avoid the tax. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.