Six provocations on the origins and impacts of the UK housing emergency

14th September 2025

While the problems in the UK housing market are well known the way out is not easy.

Ruth Curtis chief executive of the Resolution Foundation said in her weekly newsletter "Between 1980 and 2010, domestic credit expanded by eight times more than GDP, driving the house-price spiral we see today, where the average home in England costs nearly eight times average earnings.

She points to several references including a very interesting paper - Six provocations on the origins and impacts of the UK housing emergency - that set out how we go to the place where houses are so expensive and beyond the reach of many.

In Brief - Link to the 6 full articles at the foot of this page.

The Six Provocations

Historical antecedents (Martin Daunton)

Before WW1 England’s housing system was very different: mostly rented, many small landlords, speculative building, cheap land, fewer constraints from planning. Homes were cheaper relative to incomes.

The interwar period saw increases in owner‐occupation, building societies financing mortgages, and major private building booms. But this system changed by the later 20th century, especially after financial deregulation etc.

Financial roots of the British housing crisis (Avner Offer)

After 1980, big shifts:

Deregulation of finance: easier mortgage credit, banks moving in, building societies converting etc.

Reduction of social housing build; “right to buy” policies that sold public housing without adequate replacement.

The availability of cheap credit fuelled a house‐price spiral: home values rose much faster than incomes. Those who got in early did well; later entrants struggle (“Generation Rent”).

Many owners benefit from asset gains, while many renters or prospective buyers are priced out.

Housing dynamics and futures in Britain (Michael Murphy)

Demographic drivers: population growth, ageing, smaller households increase demand for more and different kinds of housing.

Supply constraints: new builds are not occurring at needed rates; conversion, reuse, etc. help but have limits. The existing stock is ageing; many homes are becoming non‐“decent” or unsuitable.

Policy & market tensions: building more, but also maintaining quality and meeting diverse needs like accessibility etc. Supply alone will not solve the mismatch of types, locations, affordability.
British Academy Journal

Housing and health in the older population (Emily Grundy)

The ageing population intensifies problems: many older people live in homes that are poor in terms of accessibility, thermal comfort, hazard risk etc.
British Academy Journal

Poor housing quality leads to health issues: falls, difficulties with daily life, earlier onset of need for care. There are also financial and logistical barriers to adaptation (especially for privately renting older people).
British Academy Journal

Adapting homes or building specialist later‐life housing are part of the solution, but they have costs and practical obstacles, and may not address other parts of the crisis (e.g. younger people’s needs or overall supply).
British Academy Journal

Public opinion on housing in the UK (Ben Ansell)

Surveys show people generally agree there is a housing crisis, but are much less clear about what to do, especially locally. Many oppose new housing in their area, while others support it. The question of “local” matters: people resist housing being built “in my backyard”.

There is an age and tenure divide: homeowners, older people, and those in certain protected or scenic areas are more likely to oppose new building. Renters, lower‐income, younger people are more likely to support increased supply.

There is a mismatch between where people want building and where it is happening. Places with high desire for new housing often have low new building; places with low desire sometimes see more. This suggests public opinion is not strongly aligned with outcomes.

Holistic policy levers (John Muellbauer)

Presents a policy package of four major reforms:
a) Land Value Capture (LVC): ensuring that when land values rise (e.g. by planning permission), some of that value is recouped for public benefit (housing, infrastructure).

b) More social housing construction to improve access and affordability.
British Academy Journal

c) Planning reform: more flexible zoning, aligning plans and transport/infrastructure, automatic approvals for compliant proposals, etc.

d) Property taxation reform, including proposals like a Green Land Value Tax, better design of council tax, better capturing of vacant land or high‐value land, etc. The idea being more fairness, better revenue, potential leverage over land price/speculation.

These reforms are meant to be coherent with each other: tax reform to discourage land speculation, planning reform to allow more supply, social housing to address the weakest, LVC to help fund infrastructure, etc.

Read the six articles HERE

Read the Ruth Curtis newsletter 12 September 2025
Covers several topics