Breaking Point - How unaffordable housing is pushing us to the limit

By: Shelter
Published: June 2008

Breaking Point - How unaffordable housing is pushing us to the limit

The lack of affordable homes in Britain has hit millions of households hard. Many have been made homeless as a direct result of high housing costs; many more are trapped in damp, dilapidated, overcrowded or temporary housing, unable to afford to rent or buy a secure, comfortable home.

At the heart of Britain’s housing problems is the failure by successive Governments to build enough homes to keep pace with demand. In 2007, Gordon Brown made a welcome commitment to build three million new homes in England by 2020, to help ease the housing crisis.

In this report, we present new evidence of the damaging effects of a chronic undersupply of affordable housing. Quite simply, it beggars belief that in our affluent nation, millions of people still lack a decent place to live.