London’s housing crisis

“London is a world leader when it comes to culture, entertainment and business. However, the UK capital is a victim of its own success when it comes to cost of living” – Luke Christou, deputy editor at technology news website Verdict.

The housing crisis has become an increasingly worrying issue in London in recent years. Wayne Stanley, national spokesman for the Simon Communities homeless charity, states “more than 10,000 people were being housed in emergency accommodation in the UK in September 2019.”

The main issues comprise of general lack of housing as well as the constant increase in housing prices both to rent and to buy. Lucian Cook, heads of residential research at Savills estate agency, said: “London faces a massive challenge in delivering more new homes across a range of price points and tenures. That challenge has become substantially harder in the much weaker underlying market conditions of the past two to three years.”

Similar to many major cities across the globe, London can be an extremely expensive and challenging place in which to live. But with its downsides also comes the promise of new opportunities and the chance to build successful careers for many. 

However, in an interview with The Guardian, London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “The housing crisis is a major factor in the high cost of living in the capital, as well as putting home ownership out of the reach of many young Londoners who fear they will never get a foot on the property ladder.”

The solutions to this crisis are complex, but one aspect of it now being more fully explored is the demand for more co-living buildings, with shared communal spaces, and all bills included in one monthly ‘membership’ charge.

One property company, The Collective, is tapping this increasingly demand from the younger demographic, who want security of tenure and to avoid unexpected bills and costs, but also want to engage socially and even professionally with other residents in ways which build a sense of community.

Although such residential schemes have their critics – they do not constitute ‘affordable’ housing in the accepted sense – developments such as those in The Collective’s portfolio surely have a role to play in sustaining and encouraging people in the city to interact with each other.

Co-living is, though, by no means the solution to all of London’s housing problems, and one which it doesn’t really address is the number of students seeking accommodation in the capital.

There are approximately 48 colleges and universities situated in and around central London, creating a huge demand from both home and overseas students for somewhere to live whilst they are studying.

As a student studying in London, I have found it extremely hard to find affordable yet liveable housing, whether it be specifically aimed at students or just plain old flat shares. 

In an article from the Guardian (August 2019), Patrick Collinson and Miles Brignall said: “The typical student will pay around £140 a week for university-supplied accommodation in their first year, so expect to cough up a total of nearly £6,000 for a 40 to 42-week academic year, with London averages closer to £8,000.”

That is a staggering £2,000 difference between London and elsewhere in the UK, whilst also bearing in mind the higher cost of living is enough to make it very difficult for young people. 

Collinson and Brignall also stated: “Unaffordable rents are becoming an even greater issue to students than the tuition fees themselves.” Coupled with increased living costs, students are beginning to think twice about choosing to studying at universities in the capital. 

At least the type of spaces created by companies such as The Collective do seek to foster a sense of community in what can, at times, be a very daunting and lonely city in which to live.

Photo of The Collective at Canary Wharf courtesy of The Collective.