Melissa Fernández speaks to Design & Build Review Magazine about the London housing crisis and its effects on London’s younger generations. The article goes on to discuss ‘co-living’ which is an alternative method of coping and resisting the exclusionary PRS sector.

Here is an except from the article:

“It is not secret that the London housing market is in crisis. According to a recent report by the London School of Economics and Sutton Trust, while London’s population rose by 12% since 2001, to over 8.6 million, housing increased by just 9%. House prices have increased by 68% in the last ten years, compared with 16% outside London, and around 70% of millennials, also known as Generation Y, now believe that home ownership is not a short or medium-term possibility.

With the average house costing eight time an average person’s income, young Londoners are renting privately, but this is fraught with problems, such as a lack of landlord regulation. This is evidenced by a Citizen’s Advice Bureau report that documents a 75% rise in the number of requests for help from 17-24 year olds since 2007.

“There is a lack of good quality housing that is affordable, especially for younger generations,” says Dr Melissa Fernaández Arrigoitia, co-author of the LSE report an an Associate Professorial Research Fellow at LSE. “Those without family support are at a particular disadvantage in the housing market and private renting offers poor value for many and poor quality, especially for those on average and lower incomes.””

Click here to read the article. Click here to read the entire issue.