Analysis and action on living standards
Access to safe, secure and affordable housing is one of the most fundamental measures of living standards. But spiralling house prices, combined with the limited availability of social housing and high costs associated with the private rented sector, mean that for many UK families and individuals, these things remain out of reach.
The vast majority of Britons still aspire to own their own home, reflecting the fact that this tenure provides the greatest security of location, protection against future housing cost increases, and the ability to accumulate an asset. The data in this section explores rates of home ownership over time, and for family units headed by people in different age groups and cohorts.
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A family is a single adult or couple, and any dependent children. 18 year olds that live with parents and are not full-time students are not counted as separate family units and do not appear in these statistics. These people are likely to be in education at sixth form or college, and so are still ‘dependent children’.
RF analysis of IFS, Households Below Average Income (1961-83); ONS, Annual Labour Force Survey (1984-91); ONS, Quarterly Labour Force Survey (1992-latest)
RF analysis of ONS, Annual Labour Force Survey (1984-91); ONS, Quarterly Labour Force Survey (1992-latest)
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