Families in Central Beds are facing the harsh reality they will have to save for more than a decade to get themselves on the property ladder.
This is according to housing and homelessness charity, Shelter, who say it will take 12-and-half years for someone living in Central Beds to save up for their own home and 10.3 years for a family.
This follows Government figures that show the number of homeless households in England has risen by six per cent over the past year to the highest in five years.
Leighton-Linslade Mayor Amanda Dodwell said: “It’s a real concern. South East of England’s house prices are very high so it’s difficult for people to get on the ladder.
“It is extremely tough for people who have grown up in the area, but who then cannot afford to buy a house there. Especially if they have young children and are then moving further away from grandparents. It has a real impact on family life.
“The only thing we can do is make sure the social housing has a local connection of at least five years-plus so that they have first claim.
“I think people in the current economic climate don’t have as much savings and that means houses are under threat so they are looking for support from Leighton-Linslade Homeless Service. They do fantastic service within the town, but they are slightly overworked with the amount of people they are helping.”
A Central Beds spokesman said: “There hasn’t been any major increase in the number of people applying to go on the housing register in recent years, although the availability and affordability of housing is bound to be a factor.
“We provide assistance for council tenants to seek employment and further training so that they can use the back up of social housing to help get them into a position where they can look for alternatives to social housing, including buying their own home. We also promote ‘Right to Buy’ schemes to help tenants who can afford it buy their own council house. There are a range of options to support first-time buyers, including shared ownership and firstbuy and in 2012/13 we helped over 200 households with these schemes.”
There are currently 3,371 applicants on the Housing Register with 298 people ranked as high priority, but the number of empty homes has reached 2,200; with 1,255 of these empty for six months or longer.
Leighton-Linslade Homeless Service were unable to comment.
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