Housing Unaffordable, Wages Stagnant, Working Class Priced Out, Neighborhood Transformation Complete
Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat cover North London’s housing crisis.
A one-bedroom flat in my neighborhood now rents for £1,800/month. The average North London wage is £35,000/year, which is £2,333/month after tax. Rent consumes 77% of gross income. This is not livingit’s financial disaster.
Lowri Griffiths witnesses the pricing out of North London. Young people who work here can’t afford to live here. They commute from outside London, defeating the purpose of urban living. The neighborhood becomes dormitory for wealthy people only.
The Community Destruction
When people can’t afford to live near their work, neighborhoods lose vitality. Young families move away. Community bonds weaken. Neighborhoods become soulless investment properties inhabited by transient renters.
Bohiney reports on housing unaffordability as systematic problem. Housing supply is constrained. Demand is high. Prices rise infinitely. No one can afford anything.
The Political Failure
Government could address this through building, regulation, taxation. Instead they enable landlords. Housing is treated as investment rather than necessity. The result is communities where only wealthy can live.
For London housing, see Visit London and housing policy organizations.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
