A shortage of social and affordable housing is trapping lower income families in poverty and damaging their health and wellbeing according to a new report by two leading housing academics.
The study, authored by Professor Christine Whitehead of the London School of Economics and Kelvin MacDonald of the University of Cambridge, argues that rising private rents and house prices are outpacing earnings, creating acute affordability pressures across the country – particularly in London and the South East.
Sponsored by the Family Building Society, the report says lower income households are increasingly unable to access suitable housing, contributing to rising homelessness and growing financial strain on local authorities.
The authors question whether the Government’s target of delivering 1.5 million homes will be met, arguing that policy is overly concentrated on new-build supply and the planning system, while wider structural issues remain unresolved.
SCRAP STAMP DUTY
“This concentration on new-build and, in particular, on the operation of the planning system is a key factor affecting the supply of housing with, for example, increasingly long timescales from application to decision,” the report says.
The report notes that an earlier study, published in July 2025 and also sponsored by the Family Building Society, recommended scrapping stamp duty for older homeowners, taxing short lets and second homes, and treating private landlords as normal profit-making organisations. None of these proposals were adopted.
LIMITED RESOURCES
“Housing affordability is widely recognised as one of the most important issues facing households today – especially those with limited resources or past housing problems.
“The major issue in understanding affordability is that no dwelling is exactly like any other.
“Dwellings differ in terms of types, age, number and size of rooms, availability of outside space and location. No dwelling is exactly like another and value is difficult to assess.
“Rising house prices, for example, have different effects on different groups as well as different attributes between dwellings.”
NOT JUST AFFORDABILITY
The authors also highlight stalled sites where affordable housing elements lack contracts with registered providers, alongside skills shortages, viability concerns and mounting costs for local authorities meeting statutory homelessness duties.
“At the limit, the problem is not simply affordability but actually ensuring a roof over peoples’ heads.”
