Rent or buy? Figures reveal housing divide in North Lincolnshire

Nearly three-quarters of North Lincolnshire families own their own home, new figures revealed today.
Seventy-one percent of households in North Lincolnshire were owners-occupiers in 2019.Seventy-one percent of households in North Lincolnshire were owners-occupiers in 2019.
Seventy-one percent of households in North Lincolnshire were owners-occupiers in 2019.

Office for National Statistics data estimates that 71.1 percent of households in North Lincolnshire were owners-occupiers in 2019 – the latest available figures.

And more homeowners are living mortgage-free – 37.2 percent in 2019, compared to 34.4 percent seven years before.

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The proportion of households living in privately rented accommodation in North Lincolnshire has risen from 14.1 percent in 2012 to 14.7 percent.

Housing charity Shelter said that for decades the number of social homes has been plummeting, forcing people to rent privately.

Polly Neate, the organisation's chief executive, said: "Homeownership is totally out of reach as most private renters have no savings and no hope of scraping together a deposit. And the pandemic is making this bad situation worse as many families have seen their incomes drop and debt rise.

"Struggling families need a way out of private renting, and the only way to give them one is to start building more social homes.

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"A new generation of good-quality social housing would give many more people the chance of a secure home they can actually afford to live in."

She added that the Queen’s Speech offered fresh hope to private and social renters.

"Today, we are one step closer to ensuring every renter can have a decent place to call home," she said.

Across England, an average of 65.7 percent of families owned their own homes in 2019, up fractionally from 65.4 percent seven years before.

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PricedOut, a campaign group for affordable house prices, said that while older generations are paying off their mortgages and enjoying low housing costs, young people are trapped in expensive renting by the high costs of raising a deposit.

Director Anya Martin said: "Housing costs are the major driver of inequality between the generations, and it is damaging young peoples' futures.

"The main barrier to homeownership is that we have been failing to build enough homes in this country for decades, resulting in rising prices.

"We have one of the most restrictive planning systems in the world. If we want homes to get cheaper, we must build more of them."

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The Ministry of Housing said more than 243,000 homes were delivered last year – the highest number in over 30 years.

And measures in the Queen's Speech included changes to the planning system, which the Government believes will increase the supply of homes.