The search for affordable housing becomes easier for Britons. They will have priority over migrants when it comes to subsidised housing.
The government is working on plans to give Britons extra points when it comes to finding housing in one of the numerous council estates (public housing).
In the past, the main consideration was whether people were homeless, or whether they ended up in overcrowded housing. In effect, it came down to preferential treatment for immigrants. In some parts of London, more than 40 per cent of social housing was given away to immigrants. For England as a whole, one in 10 such homes is given to non-Brits.
In the UK, as in most countries, there is a points system from which to identify who is most entitled to subsidised housing. Indeed, demand for it is high. According to The Times, more than 1.2 million households are waiting for social housing.
Britons will get extra points when it comes to finding affordable housing under the UK government’s plans. The intention is not to exclude immigrants, an anonymous government representative told The Times. “But social housing is in limited supply. It is therefore right that we prioritise British people. We remain open to migrants who want to contribute to our country. But we do not have to give them preferential treatment.”
The proposal is controversial. The Times quotes an executive of a public housing organisation.
“If you put Britons higher on the list, it means that others, who have a higher need, are ignored,” said Polly Neate of the organisation Shelter.
On The Times website, however, the plans are mostly met with approval. ‘Migrants can find housing in the free sector just fine,’ said one reader. ‘Why is it news that Britons get priority for British housing?’, another wonders. ‘Why isn’t that standard?’
The shortage of subsidised housing is not new. It has actually existed since the days of Margaret Thatcher, who allowed many social tenants to buy their homes. While that measure was extremely popular, it caused private sector rents to rise sharply and created a shortage of cheaper housing.
The government’s policy is not helping. Just last year, Housing Minister Michael Gove ended regulations requiring a proportion of new construction projects to be social housing. This was done under pressure from developers for whom such housing is less lucrative.
In the UK, 200,000 new homes were built last year; 60,000 of these were ‘affordable’, but only 14,000 were social housing. Demand for subsidised housing will remain significantly higher than supply for years to come.
