London is turning into a real life Monopoly board. Sorry, but you can't afford to play.
Homeless charity
Shelter commissioned a report into the state of our capital's "affordable" housing market. Shockingly, findings indicate that, by the year 2020, you'll need to be making a salary of more than £100,000 in order to afford your own place.
via Giphy / Reddit
Currently, Londoners already need to be making in excess of £80K per year if they want a chance at owning their own home. This is set to almost double in a decade.
But why does it matter? Many people argue that, unlike countries such as Germany and The Netherlands where rent is encouraged, most Brits simply have class anxieties about not being able to afford their own homes.
There's no shame in renting for life, right?
Meanwhile, others contend that the London price crisis is a serious issue, highlighting a yawning gap between rich an poor that already exists in the city. For them, it will continue to expand as long as regular people are priced out of low-cost housing.
via Giphy / Paramount Pictures
The figures wouldn't be so hard to swallow if our average wages were rising too. There aren't.
Unfortunately, the price of the average home in most boroughs has only grown by 67 per cent, whereas residents’ average wages have
fallen by 7 per cent across the city.
According to
Shelter's chief executive Campbell Robb, the next London Mayor – most likely either Sadiq Khan or Zac Goldsmith – is expected to make affordable housing a top priority.
“It doesn’t have to be like this", he says, before adding:
"The next Mayor of London has the power to turn our housing crisis around, and with only weeks before Londoners go to the polling booth, the candidates must commit to investing in homes that people on ordinary incomes can actually afford and making renting more secure.”
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Do not pass 'Go!' Do not collect £200.
Got a horror story about rent you want to share with us? Let us know your own situation and what it's really like living in London by messaging us at Hello@JOE.co.uk!
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