Young people locked out of housing market

There is a warning that a housing crisis will stop one million young people from getting on the property ladder by 2020.

A report published by the York based Joseph Rowntree Foundation has looked at housing options and solutions for young people. It has concluded than in just eight years time an extra 1.5 million 18 to 30-year-olds will be forced into private renting.

The report also suggests an extra half a million young people will be forced to stay with their parents well into their 30s. That will mean the total number of young people living with mum and dad will rise to 3.7 million by 2020.

It goes on to predict that the number of homeless people under 25 will also rise to 81,000.

There is a warning that a "three tier" system will develop in the renting market, with those at the top who can afford to pay, a "squeezed middle" group who might struggle to pay and a bottom level of 400,000 who risk being excluded completely.