There's a national housing crisis, say consumers (but...

A public opinion poll has found that four out of five people think there is a housing crisis in Britain – but not on their back doorstep.

The Ipsos MORI poll found that of the 80% who believe there is a national crisis, 44% strongly agree. While 18% disagree there is a crisis, only 3% strongly disagree.

Most of the people surveyed say that there is not enough affordable housing (59%), agree that it is harder to buy or rent now than it was for their parents (77%), and that it will be harder for today’s children to buy or rent in the future (90%).

However, the poll also shows that while most people see a bigger picture, it does not necessarily translate locally. Just 44% say there is a housing crisis in their area, with 49% disagreeing. There is also a split on local house building: 52% say new homes need to be built locally, but 45% disagree.

Ipsos MORI chief executive Ben Page, said: “Housing is an interesting issue for pollsters. Our regular polls find few people mention it spontaneously and it tends to be, at most, a second order issue in local and national elections. It can be seen as something like the weather, that no one is responsible for.

“Ask people about a list of issues, though, and it hurtles upwards as a problem. And when people start thinking about the future, it has even stronger traction. Overlay on that our steadfast aspirations to own our own homes, and it is a politically important issue too.

“Yet while there is stronger public backing for building new housing than any other type of infrastructure project including roads and rail, all the evidence is of continued sluggish progress in increasing housing supply to meet rising demand.

  “Today’s poll gives extra conviction to those saying ‘something must be done’ while highlighting the challenges. In particular, the crisis plays out differently by tenure, by age and by area. For example, outside London and the South-East, most disagree that there is a housing crisis in their local area, but the opposite is true in southern England and London.

“And while most think there isn’t enough affordable housing available to buy or rent, there is plenty of resistance to new homes being built locally. Councils report public opposition to be the biggest block to building new homes.”  

He added: “House building needs to be given greater attention by politicians, communities and business.”