English houses are more cramped than New York apartments

People in England live in more cramped conditions than those in New York City apartments, a shocking new study revealed today. 

The Resolution Foundation found the average floor space per person in England is 38 square metres, compared to 43 in the New York metropolitan area. 

The corresponding figure for London is 33sqm compared to 31sqm for Paris, 43sqm for France, 33sqm for Tokyo, 40sqm for Japan and 66sqm for the US as a whole. 

The report also revealed that Finland is the only country in the OECD that spends more on housing than British workers as a proportion of total spending.

Yet despite paying more than other countries, they are getting less in return due to our ‘expensive and ageing’ housing stock. 

The Foundation’s housing outlook used OCED data to compare the UK’s housing issues against other similar economies. 

England’s housing stock is also relatively old, with 38% of homes built before 1946, the report said, compared with around a fifth (21%) in Italy and one in nine (11%) in Spain.

Older homes can be poorly insulated, leading to higher energy bills and a higher risk of damp, according to the Foundation, which is focused on improving the living standards for those on low to middle incomes.

Researchers also considered what it would cost to rent all homes – incorporating what owners would pay if they rented their home at market rates – to show how the market price of housing varies across different countries.

The report said: ‘If all households in the UK were fully exposed to our housing market, they would have to devote 22% of their spending to housing services, far higher than the OECD average (17%), and the highest level across the developed economies with the solitary exception of Finland.’

Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: ‘Britain’s housing crisis is likely to be a big topic in the election campaign, as parties debate how to address the problems of high costs, poor quality and low security that face so many households.

‘Britain is one of many countries apparently in the midst of a housing crisis, and it can be difficult to separate rhetoric from reality. 

‘But by looking at housing costs, floorspace and wider issues of quality, we find that the UK’s expensive, cramped and ageing housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy.

‘Britain’s housing crisis is decades in the making, with successive governments failing to build enough new homes and modernise our existing stock. That now has to change.’

Last month a report found just 250,000 homes were built last year across Great Britain against a target of 300,000.

Complex and unpredictable planning rules across the three nations are partly to blame for this, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. 

The report heighted that many planning departments are under-resourced, some do not have up-to-date local plans, and do not have clear targets or strong incentives to deliver the numbers of homes needed in their area.

It also said shortfalls were linked to requirements to speak with a wide range of stakeholders.

In addition, there were concerns over limitations to private speculative development, highlighting that developers often produce houses based on pricing rather than diversifying the types and numbers of homes they build to meet the needs of communities.

The report also found a rise in developers using estate management charges for facilities, such as roads, drainage and green spaces.

It said these charges are ‘often high and unclear to homeowners’ and flagged that some unplanned charges can cost thousands of pounds.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: ‘Housebuilding is a Government priority and despite global economic challenges we remain on track to meet the manifesto commitment of delivering one million homes this Parliament, and have introduced reforms to improve the planning system.

‘At the same time as increasing the quantity of homes we are driving up quality, with the number of non-decent homes down by two million since 2010.

‘Our landmark Renters Reform Bill is progressing through Parliament and will give tenants more security in their homes, while our £11.5 billion investment in the affordable homes Programme and £1.2 billion local authority housing fund will help build a new generation of affordable and social housing.’