Defining and measuring housing affordability in the private rented sector using the minimum income standard [Powerpoint Presentation]

There is growing concern about a ‘crisis’ in housing affordability in the UK, renewing longstanding debates about what constitutes ‘affordable’ housing. The growth of the private rented sector as a source of housing for low income households has also led to increased interest in understanding the impact of housing costs on living standards, and to calls for a ‘Living Rent’. In this context, this paper builds on existing work on ‘residual income’ measures of housing affordability, accepting that what households can afford to pay for housing depends not just on their income but also on their other spending requirements. It proposes a new approach to defining and measuring housing affordability, based on the Minimum Income Standard (MIS).The paper uses the latest Family Resources Survey to examine the housing affordability across the UK and within London, and considers the impact of one model of Living Rents on affordability and living standards.