Affordable housing deemed 'unaffordable' in Luton

Housing justice charity Shelter said the Government has prioritised investment in affordable homes and called for sustained investment in cheaper social housing instead.

It comes after the Government announced a £500 million investment into the existing Affordable Homes Programme in the Autumn Budget, aimed at delivering up to 5,000 social and affordable homes.

But new research by Shelter has deemed affordable homes in Luton 'unaffordable'.

Analysis of Office for National Statistics data shows the median weekly affordable rent for a one-bed property in Luton is £184. Meanwhile, the 25th percentile of weekly gross pay in the area is £413.

It means a person in Luton living in affordable housing and earning this wage will spend around 45 per cent of their income on rent.

The ONS deems an area 'affordable' if a private-renting household spends 30 per cent or less of their gross pay on rent.

Income from benefits was not included in Shelter's research as it is difficult to estimate.

Regardless of benefit income, the charity argued "affordable housing ought to be affordable to an individual in work without needing government support via benefits".

The research found 42 per cent of areas across England have 'unaffordable' affordable housing.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "For decades now we’ve been haemorrhaging social homes and instead of replacing them, money is instead being funnelled into so called 'affordable homes', which too often just aren’t affordable to people on low incomes."

Ms Neate added social housing represents "the only genuinely affordable housing" and is "the only long-term solution to our housing emergency" because rents are calculated with local incomes and are lower than private rents.

In Luton, those earning the 25th percentile wage will spend around 22 per cent of their gross income on a one-bed social rental property.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "We will deliver 1.5 million homes as part of our Plan for Change including the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation.

"We have asked Homes England to maximise the number of social rent homes delivered, and future new investment will also prioritise this."