← Back to Westminster Hall Debates
Housing Needs: Young People
16 April 2026
Lead MP
Susan Murray
Mid Dunbartonshire
Lib Dem
Responding Minister
Matthew Pennycook
Tags
TaxationHousingForeign AffairsChildren & Families
Word Count: 10665
Other Contributors: 10
At a Glance
Susan Murray raised concerns about housing needs: young people in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
The Minister is asked to meet with the Liberal Democrats to discuss a potential 'rent-to-buy' scheme and assess the impact of ongoing mortgage rule reviews on under-35s. There are also questions about whether first-time buyer support schemes truly reach young people on ordinary incomes or those with family wealth.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Young people across the United Kingdom face increasing difficulties in accessing affordable housing, with record numbers of young adults living at home due to unaffordable rent. The private rented sector sees bottom earners spending an average of 63% of their income on rent. Since 2019, Scotland has seen a 66% increase in rough sleeping and 10,000 children in temporary accommodation.
Andrew George
Lib Dem
St Ives
He declared an interest as a former chief executive [K of a housing association and discussed the difficulties faced by young peop [4D [K people due to high construction inflation and changes in planning policy. H [1D [K He highlighted that Cornwall now needs to deliver 4,421 homes annually inst [4D [K instead of 2,600 previously, making it impossible to meet this demand overn [5D [K overnight. George also criticised the tax system for second residences, sta [3D [K stating that wealthy owners have benefited from over £500 million in taxpay [6D [K taxpayers' money in Cornwall alone. Mr. Andrew George highlighted the previous governmen [9D [K government's implementation of changes to furnished holiday lets and double [6D [K double council tax, but emphasised a significant tax loophole allowing seco [4D [K second home owners to apply for small business rate relief without paying a [1D [K anything. He argued that this favoured wealthy individuals over affordable [K housing needs.
Derby North
She highlighted the challenges young people face in [K finding affordable housing, citing that in 2014, 36% of those aged 24 lived [5D [K lived with their families compared to 49% by 2024. She praised the £39 bill [4D [K billion investment in social and affordable housing and mentioned the Found [5D [K Foundry Point development which will provide 60 self-contained flats for yo [2D [K young people aged 18 to 30, emphasizing the importance of partnerships betw [4D [K between charities, local authorities, and businesses.
West Dunbartonshire
The Scottish SNP Government slashed its affordable h [1D [K housing budget by £200 million, resulting in record levels of children in t [1D [K temporary accommodation and a significant increase in rough sleeping. Labou [5D [K Labour proposes 125,000 new homes to address the issue.
Gareth Bacon
Con
Orpington
Mr. Gareth Bacon highlighted the multifaceted housin [6D [K housing issues affecting young people, including those in temporary accommo [7D [K accommodation, private rented sector, and homeless individuals. He cited ON [2D [K ONS figures indicating a significant decline in house building during the G [1D [K Government's tenure, with completions falling to 175,290 homes in the first [5D [K first 15 months of office compared to a target of 300,000 per year. The num [3D [K number of dwellings completed dropped to 30,880 in the three months to Sept [4D [K September 2025, the lowest since the pandemic. Mr. Bacon also noted that 20 [2D [K 208,600 new homes were built during the Government's first year, a decrease [8D [K decrease from the previous year.
Gideon Amos
Lib Dem
Taunton and Wellington
Housing is the single biggest issue affecting young [K people's lives, with high rents and deposits making homeownership unattaina [9D [K unattainable for many. Gideon Amos highlighted that nearly half of 24-year- [8D [K 24-year-olds now live at home with their parents, up from just over a third [5D [K third a decade ago. He also mentioned an estimated 124,000 young people app [3D [K approached local authorities last year due to homelessness or risk of it, r [1D [K representing a 6% rise compared to the previous year.
Jeremy Corbyn
Ind
Islington North
Corbyn highlighted the housing crisis in inner Londo [5D [K London, noting that one-third of his constituency's population live in priv [4D [K private rented accommodation, with young people facing significant challeng [8D [K challenges. He cited monthly rent costs of at least £2,000 for a two or thr [3D [K three-bedroom flat and pointed out the severe shortage of affordable social [6D [K social housing. Corbyn also mentioned evictions due to no-fault section 21 [K clauses and called for better governance of large housing associations. Mr Jeremy Corbyn raised concerns about large housing [7D [K housing associations selling off properties upon tenant changes, using the [K proceeds for capital assets elsewhere, leading to social cleansing in city [K centres. He questioned whether the Minister had any comments on this issue. [6D [K issue.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Jim Shannon highlighted the growing housing crisis i [1D [K in Northern Ireland, noting a 6% increase to 38,336 households experiencing [12D [K experiencing housing stress. He pointed out that 81% of applicants on the s [1D [K social housing waiting list are in housing stress and over 5,000 children a [1D [K are living in temporary accommodation with an average stay of nearly three [K quarters of a year. Shannon stressed the unaffordability of homes for young [5D [K young people, mentioning house prices averaging £243,924 in his constituenc [11D [K constituency, representing the highest increase in Northern Ireland.
John Whitby
Lab
Derbyshire Dales
John Whitby highlighted the housing challenges in ru [2D [K rural areas like Derbyshire Dales, where high prices and rents are pushing [K young people out of their communities. He cited specific issues such as the [3D [K the impact of second homes and holiday lets, which make up a quarter of res [3D [K residential properties in some villages. Whitby also noted that developers [K often avoid building affordable and social housing, leading to an oversuppl [9D [K oversupply of large houses unsuitable for younger families.
Sally Jameson
Lab Co-op
Doncaster Central
Ms Jameson highlighted that around 12,000 young peop [4D [K people leave foster care or residential homes annually and face a sharply h [1D [K heightened risk of homelessness. In 2024-25 alone, 4,610 care leavers aged [K between 18 and 20 experienced homelessness, representing a 54% increase ove [3D [K over five years compared to the general population. She mentioned that Cent [4D [K Centrepoint research found that care leavers are significantly more likely [K to be rejected by landlords, with 40% unable to afford deposits and up-fron [7D [K up-front costs. Ms Jameson suggested expanding local authority rent deposit [7D [K deposit and guarantor schemes as practical solutions for care leavers.
Sean Woodcock
Lab
Banbury
Sean Woodcock discussed Oxfordshire's severe housing [7D [K housing crisis, noting that home costs 12 times local earnings and over a t [1D [K third of households rent privately. He highlighted how the demand for homes [5D [K homes has quadrupled in Banbury over a decade due to people leaving expensi [7D [K expensive areas like Oxford. Woodcock stressed the economic impact, with hi [2D [K high-tech industries generating £23.5 billion annually, arguing that failin [6D [K failing to build enough housing stifles growth and talent.
Government Response
Matthew Pennycook
Government Response
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I congratulate the hon. Members for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) and for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) on securing this important debate. It has been a very wide-ranging debate covering issues including empty homes, short-term lets, building materials costs, rural exemption sites, care leavers, housing allocations, social housing, and housing association regulation. The Government is committed to addressing the acute and entrenched housing crisis in England, which includes high house prices relative to incomes, reduced first-time buyer numbers, and a growing private rented sector facing high costs and insecurity. Key measures include overhauling the planning system, boosting social and affordable housing investment through a £39 billion programme, widening access to mortgages, launching a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme supporting high loan-to-value mortgages for buyers with small deposits, and rebalancing the market in favour of first-time buyers. The Government aims to reform the private rented sector and bring an end to the feudal leasehold system by making commonhold the default tenure. We are also committed to improving the home buying process and expanding housing choice and availability.
▸
Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy
About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.