Rent or buy? Figures reveal housing divide in West Lindsey

Three-quarters of West Lindsey families own their own home, figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal.
74.6% of households in West Lindsey were owners-occupiers in 201974.6% of households in West Lindsey were owners-occupiers in 2019
74.6% of households in West Lindsey were owners-occupiers in 2019

The ONS data estimates that 74.6 percent of households in West Lindsey were owners-occupiers in 2019, and more homeowners (42.3 percent in 2019) are living mortgage-free – compared to 39.6 percent seven years before.

The proportion of households living in privately rented accommodation in West Lindsey has risen from 14.6% in 2012 to 15.1%.

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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.

"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."

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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% of families owned their own homes in 2019, up fractionally from 65.4% seven years before.

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.

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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."

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