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Housing shortage affecting Britain's workplace: TUC

01/07/2008

The TUC has today warned that with house prises continuing to fall private house builders are likely to begin limiting the number of new homes offered for sale at a time when they are needed more than ever before.

In a report published on Tuesday, the TUC also question whether Gordon Brown's target of building three million new homes by 2020 will be enough.

The TUC claim the UK is currently suffering from a huge housing shortage with more than 1.5 million people in need of decent housing.

Commenting on today's report Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, said: "Everyone in the UK should be able to afford decent housing, but for many people renting a good quality flat or owning their own home remains a distant dream.

"The high price of housing has forced many employees to live miles from their jobs, others are crowded into sub-standard accommodation and have given up all hope of ever reaching the top of the social housing list.

"Housing can have a huge impact upon an individual's working life and how productive they are once they go to work. Huge regional differences in the cost of housing have lead to labour shortages in certain areas, and property prices are forcing people to embark on ever longer commutes, he added.

"Similarly, workers living in poor housing are more likely to suffer from ill-health, and are likely to be less productive at work. It's a problem the UK economy cannot afford to ignore."

The TUC also calls on the government to put more pressure on mortgage lenders to return to a "more responsible system of lending".

It warns that unless ministers introduce measure to help the thousands of people encouraged to borrow beyond their means, repossessions may become a serious problem and there may be a return to 1990s levels – when 100,000 households a year were forced to hand over their homes to their mortgage lenders.