"Plainly speaking, rents are going through the roof: there aren’t enough properties or rooms available to rent, and landlords are being forced to sell up. Rather than getting better, it’s getting worse."
- Matt Hutchinson - SpareRoom
According to a poll of 1,476 renters by SpareRoom, the ongoing housing crisis (85%) tops the list of key priorities to be addressed by the current / incoming government. The issue scored higher than the cost of living (78%), NHS waiting times (64%), inflation (52%), climate change (39%), immigration (36%) and crime (34%).
With over a third of the UK’s households currently renting, these findings ring alarm bells with a general election due in the next 12-months.
The poll also revealed what renters want to see to help relieve the housing crisis, led by the introduction of rent caps (64%). This action was followed by getting people into empty properties (63%), prioritising residential supply over second homes (61%), building more housing (57%) and adding an additional tax on homes that are empty for more than six months (53%).
Since 2010, there has been 16 housing ministers, spending an average of 11 months in the hotseat – equivalent to 334 days. Meanwhile, the average job span for current Premier League managers, another role seen as precarious and unstable, is 668 days.
Lee Rowley has been Minister of State for Housing since November 2023, having previously held the role for just SEVEN WEEKS from September to October 2022. Research from SpareRoom reveals that the average Premier League manager’s job span to get results is twice that of the Minister of State for Housing (668 days vs 334 days).
With such a ministerial merry-go-round, it’s no wonder that only 16% said they knew who the current Housing Minister was. Of those who didn’t, just 21% guessed the actual Minister (Lee Rowley), when presented with a list of names to choose from.
Almost as many (18%) named Brandon Lewis who held the post for two years between 2014 – 2016. In fact, 38% opted for the names of former Premier League managers who lasted more than 11 months in their job, such as Nigel Adkins, Phil Brown, Paul Jewell and Brian McDermott.
Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom Director said: “Over a third of the UK’s households currently rent, and for them, the housing crisis is the biggest priority from this and the next government, ahead of changes to the NHS and combatting climate change. Plainly speaking, rents are going through the roof: there aren’t enough properties or rooms available to rent, and landlords are being forced to sell up. Rather than getting better, it’s getting worse.
“It’s crazy that the role of Housing Minister is treated as a short-term job when it requires stability and a long-term strategy. They’ve barely got their feet under the desk and a grasp of the enormous job in hand when they’re removed and replaced. It’s renters and landlords alike who are suffering from the lack of vision and results. This must change.”
