Nearly A Million More Young Adults Now Live With Parents

Nearly a million more young adults are living with their parents than was the case two decades ago, a study has found. The figures, in a report by the cross-party thinktank Civitas, will fuel concerns that too little is being done to protect young people from Britain’s housing crisis. The proportion of people aged 20 to 34 who live with their parents has risen from 19.48% in 1997, equating to 2.4 million people, to 25.91% in 2017, equating to 3.4 million. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/08/million-more-young-adults-live-parents-uk-housing

Corbyn Right-To-Buy Plan Backed By Centre-Right Think Tank

Jeremy Corbyn’s plan to extend right to buy to tenants in privately owned housing has gained the support of a major centre-right think tank. Civitas's backing of the radical idea underlines growing concern the housing market has become unaffordable for young people. Report author Peter Saunders said "generational inequality" had worsened over the last 20 years as house price increases outstripped rises in earnings. Mr Saunders said the same eligibility criteria would apply to private tenants that currently apply to council and housing association tenants and that they should also get the same discount.  To not discourage investors from buying property to let, Civitas recommends the policy would only apply to tenants who had lived in their homes for several years. The properties would have to be more than 25 years old. Read more on the Independent website.

PRS 'Needs Rent Controls and Indefinite Tenancies'

Inflation-busting rent rises should be banned and indefinite tenancies should become the norm in the private rented sector (PRS), a leading think tank has said. Civitas also said Ed Miliband’s controversial proposals for reform of the private rented sector ‘do not go far enough’. It warned that the availability of housing benefit is creating a ‘vicious cycle’ of inflation with landlords able to fix ‘artificially high’ rents at the lower end of the market. Dismissing concerns that rent regulation would deter investors from the sector, the report said rent should not be allowed to rise above inflation once freely set at the start of the tenancy. It also said tenants should ‘ordinarily’ be allowed to remain in the property ‘for as long as they wish’ to make the tenure suitable for families. Read more on Inside Housing.