Skyrocketing house prices and rental rates are making it hard for Britons to own a home or even stay in London. Some 2,000 residents and students went on the streets and took to social media to protest the sorry situation they are forced in.
According to Yahoo! News, the average house price in London saw a 12.4 percent increase in 2015 at £514,097 ($740,400) by December. Median rent in the city ranges from £122 to £402 per week from one- to three-bedroom homes.
The significant increases, which are attributed to the shortage in housing supply and increasing population among other factors, resulted in lowest-paid workers to live outside London, far from their jobs. In 2015, there were only 25,994 new homes built, while the population in the city is growing at a rate of 100,000 a year; there are currently 8.6 million people living in London.
"People in the lowest-paid jobs have to live on the outskirts of London," Green Party leader Natalie Bennett told AFP, as per Yahoo! News. "We're now hearing of junior doctors, nurses and teachers having to commute from outside."
A study by think tank Resolution Foundation found that nine out of 10 modest income earners aged 35 below are unlikely to be able to buy their own homes in the next 10 years, The Guardian has reported. With that, they will be forced to stay as renters or live with their parents.
According to the Resolution Foundation, homeownership among low- to middle-income households in the U.K. fell 25.3 percent in 2013-2014, while the number of private renters rose 53.5 percent.
Other factors that are said to have contributed to Britain's housing crisis include the government's new housing bill which is set to change public housing and tenants' rights. Building homes designed for the wealthy, who buy properties and then leave them empty while their value appreciates, is also something Britons blame.
