This report explores the social impacts of the undersupply of housing on young people, in areas such as life aspirations, starting a family, professional ambitions, relationships with parents and partners, security and control, and community belonging.
It is well known that there is an undersupply of housing in the UK. Despite being one of the richest countries in the world, we are failing to provide enough homes for our people. The social impact of this – particularly on young people – is less well known. Faced with high levels of youth unemployment, stagnant wages and tuition fees, this generation of young people face different challenges to their parents. The clear message from our research – which includes a survey of young people and intergenerational interviews with young people and their parents – was that the undersupply of housing is holding young people back.