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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 [9D [K Democrats to discuss a potential 'rent-to-buy' scheme and assess the impact [6D [K impact of ongoing mortgage rule reviews on under-35s. There are also questi [6D [K questions about whether first-time buyer support schemes truly reach young [K 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 increasi [8D [K increasing difficulties in accessing affordable housing, with record number [6D [K numbers of young adults living at home due to unaffordable rent. The privat [6D [K private rented sector sees bottom earners spending an average of 63% of the [3D [K their income on rent. Since 2019, Scotland has seen a 66% increase in rough [5D [K 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 [2D [K Ms Butler. I congratulate the hon. Members for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Mu [2D [K Murray) and for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) on securing this impor [5D [K important debate. It has been a very wide-ranging debate covering issues in [2D [K including empty homes, short-term lets, building materials costs, rural exe [3D [K exemption sites, care leavers, housing allocations, social housing, and hou [3D [K housing association regulation. The Government is committed to addressing t [1D [K the acute and entrenched housing crisis in England, which includes high hou [3D [K house prices relative to incomes, reduced first-time buyer numbers, and a g [1D [K growing private rented sector facing high costs and insecurity. Key measure [7D [K measures include overhauling the planning system, boosting social and affor [5D [K affordable housing investment through a £39 billion programme, widening acc [3D [K access to mortgages, launching a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme suppor [6D [K supporting high loan-to-value mortgages for buyers with small deposits, and [3D [K and rebalancing the market in favour of first-time buyers. The Government a [1D [K aims to reform the private rented sector and bring an end to the feudal lea [3D [K leasehold system by making commonhold the default tenure. We are also commi [5D [K committed to improving the home buying process and expanding housing choice [6D [K choice and availability.
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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.