Leeds’s housing market is headed for complete meltdown.
The dire warning comes as a new report shows private rents have soared by 40 per cent across the city.
According to the National Housing Federation, the crippling hike in rents is a direct result of stagnation in home sales.
Average annual rental costs in Leeds now stand at more than £10,000 – higher than the national average and more than the Cotswolds.
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Robert Warm, lead manager for Yorkshire and Humber for the National Housing Federation, trade body for social landlords, said: “For years we have all been aware of the unaffordabiliy of the housing market, it’s increasingly difficult for people to own their own home. What we are seeing now is that fundamental lack of supply is having a knock on to private sector rents and they are going through the roof.
“Places like Leeds and York, which have overheated markets – the question is what’s going to happen in five or seven years when they can’t afford to buy but can’t afford to rent either. It’s a vicious circle, it’s almost impossible to save for a deposit when you are paying out 50 per cent of your income on private sector rent.”
His words come as the National Housing Federation launches its Home Truths campaign – a state of the nation report looking at the national housing crisis and urging people to back plans to create more homes.
It said the lack of new homes had sent prices soaring – the typical price of a home now EIGHT times average income. Last year, across Yorkshire, only 3,333 affordable homes were built, yet 260,000 families remain on waiting lists.
Mr Warm said if nothing was done in the short term, private rents could rise by a further 50 per cent by 2020. He added: “The solution has got to be about developing more houses.”
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