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.
While tenure change often captures the headlines, an even greater problem threatening day-to-day living standards is the pressure from housing costs on family finances. The data in this section shows rapid increases in the share of income that housing costs took up prior to the financial crisis. It also sets out what this change means for housing-cost-to-income ratios across age groups and cohorts.
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Financial years after 1993 (so 1994 refers to 1994-95). Excluding principal repayment and including housing benefit (in both incomes and housing costs).
RF analysis of IFS, Households Below Average Income (1961-91); DWP, Family Resources Survey (1994-latest)
Excluding principal repayment and including housing benefit (in both incomes and housing costs).
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