'The housing crisis should dominate next year's Mayoral Election'

A new report paints bleak picture of London housing market, with an entire generation locked out of the housing market.

To buy a house of average price in L.B. Hillingdon with a 75% mortgage requires an annual income of £60,518, while the average income is only £26,068.Even to buy a house of lower value requires an income of £43,929.

National Housing Federation assistant director Kate Dodsworth said: 'An entire generation has been locked out of a broken market. The housing crisis should dominate next year’s mayoral election as Londoners face their own Olympian struggle to find a home they can afford.

The average Londoner would need to triple their salary to £87,000 to buy an average price property in the capital, according to a report launched today by the National Housing Federation. .

And if owning a home looks a forlorn hope renting is not looking much better. Private sector rents have risen 30% since 2008 and are expected to rise by a further 20% in the next 5 years.

Government Ministers have consistently argued that the changes in local housing allowance would lead to reduced rents in the private rented sector and would not lead to more homelessness.

One year later rent have increased 12% meanwhile a report by London Councils estimates the Household Benefit Cap and Housing Benefit cuts will leave 133,000 households unable to pay their current rents. In 2010/11 10,180 families were accepted as homeless and in priority need by London councils, an 8% rise on the previous year and the first increase since 2004.

Meanwhile the Goverment's solution is to provide social rented homes at 'affordable rents' which is double-speak for unnaffordable rents.

New social housing being  supplied at ‘affordable rents’ means setting rents in Westminster at 65% of market rents. This  would require a household income of £65,000 to cover the cost without benefit.

In Haringey, a rent set at 80% of local market rents would require a household income of £31,000 for a 1 bed flat, and in Newham a 2 bed flat would require a household income of £27,000.