Housing policy could sway the vote of 16 per cent of UK tenants

One in six (16 per cent) of UK tenants recognise housing as a key issue in the upcoming General Election.

First-time buyers are also concerned about what the parties’ view on housing would be with 17 per cent of them saying housing policy could affect their vote at the election, the latest First Time Buyer Opinion Barometer from Your Move and Reeds Rains shows.

While housing (16 per cent) and healthcare (16 per cent) both tied as the primary concern of tenants, first-time buyers were more concerned about healthcare, with 23 per cent of them saying this issue could be a vote changer.

Interestingly, most first-time buyers (78 per cent) say the General Election was not a factor in their decision to buy.

The biggest barrier for would-be buyers to get on the property ladder remains the inability to raise enough money to make a deposit, as 68 per cent cited that reason. The second most popular reason was low income, with 25 per cent of survey respondents saying they are not able to fit mortgage repayments in their tight budget.

“Of all the troubles facing tenants, the struggle to get onto the housing ladder is their biggest concern – and it is most likely to affect how they may choose to vote in May. We are in the grips of a housing crisis, with our population increasing at a faster rate than we are building new homes. And while wages have experienced a marked uplift over the last few months, the affordable housing conundrum is far from solved. Even economic heavyweight Mark Carney has complained that housebuilding is too low.

“In order to put a dent in this housing crisis we need to make some tangible changes in how we control construction. We should ease planning regulations to get rid of the layers of bureaucracy slowing the process, and we need to make it easier to regenerate brownfield sites. On top of that, we should support smaller construction firms hampered by the credit crunch, and encourage skilled construction workers to stay in the field. This is about making it quicker and easier to build, and making sure we have all the resources at the ready,” Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, commented.