The cost of housing and childcare is putting a minimum standard of living out of reach for millions of Londoners, according to a new report from the Centre for Research in Social Policy and Trust for London.
Nearly four million Londoners are living in households with inadequate incomes. And for the first time, the research participants have concluded that social housing is no longer accessible for any household type in London.
A majority of private renters, more than a million children and 86% of single-parent families are now living with less than what is needed for day-to-day life.
The findings are published in the latest Minimum Income Standard for London report, which sets out what people need for a basic but dignified standard of living in the capital – covering not only essentials such as food, housing and childcare, but also what is needed to participate in society.
The standard is based on what members of the public say is needed.
The report reveals:
- Four in ten Londoners are living on inadequate incomes.
- The cost of reaching a minimum standard of living in London has soared over the last decade. Single working-age adults in both Inner and Outer London now need to earn around twice as much as in 2014.
- Wages and benefit levels have failed to keep pace – both the minimum wage and social security fall well short of what is needed.
London's chronic shortage of social housing means families rely on the expensive private rental market.
Coupled with astronomical childcare costs, it’s not hard to see how the pressures of everyday life are becoming untenable for millions.
Rent for a single adult with no children is 2.2x more expensive in Outer London than the rest of Urban UK. In Inner London, it's nearly 3x more expensive.
And single parents need to spend 51% more on childcare in Inner London than the rest of the UK.
Klara Skrivankova, director of grants at Trust for London said:
"This new research exposes a stark truth: social housing is simply not there for the millions of Londoners are struggling to get by.
"Rents in the capital are far higher than anywhere else UK, and more than 300,000 households are stuck on social housing waiting lists.
"The result is that countless Londoners are spending so much just to keep a roof over their heads that they can't afford the basics. This is the everyday reality of the housing crisis."
Dr Chloe Blackwell, who led the study, said:
“For the first time since our research in London began, a minimum living standard in the capital now includes the cost of private rents for all households.
“We know that private rents are much higher than social rents and this really pushes up the income households need for reaching a minimum socially acceptable standard of living - to live with dignity in London in 2026. We also know that renting privately can be less secure and that there are justifiable concerns about quality and suitability.
“This significant change coming out of our research in London this year points to some very real challenges in the housing market and reveals the consequences of the depletion of social housing stock.
“People in London feel strongly that households at all stages of life should be able to expect a reasonable degree of choice, including about where they live. Instead, many find themselves trapped, paying rents which take up a substantial proportion of their income, meaning that what is left does not give them enough to live with dignity in London.”
Co-author Professor Matt Padley said:
“Our latest research in London shows that it remains a city where the decent, dignified standard of living we all deserve is out of reach for far, far too many people.
“Nearly 4 million people in London don’t have enough for this standard of living. Over half of all the children in the capital - that’s a million children - are growing up in households without what they need to cover the essentials, but also without what they need to take part in and feel part of the city they live in.
“And the biggest challenges facing lots of households are the same ones we highlighted back in 2015. Accessing affordable, appropriate, secure housing is a challenge for so many households, with incomes really squeezed by high housing costs.
“Wages have not kept up with costs, meaning that even full-time work, paid at the National Living Wage, falls well short of providing what households need. For households out of work, the picture is even more grim, with a substantial gap between what they need and what safety-net benefits provide.
“Things need to change and change quickly, particularly when it comes to housing. The past decade has seen a lot of commitments to provide appropriate, affordable homes, but it remains the case that not enough is being done to ensure that London remains a city for all.”