Young people and housing

This programme aims to improve the housing options available to young people aged from 16 to 30 from across the UK. The programme covers all housing tenures and includes young people from a variety of social backgrounds. Its focus is on developing workable policy and practice solutions that will enable young people to make more successful housing moves whether they are moving into home ownership, social housing, private renting or another housing tenure.

The programme's objectives are to:

• influence the policy debate to address the future policy challenges and solutions around young people's housing options;
• highlight policies that can adversely affect young people's housing choices and work with young people and the housing sector to identify solutions;
• give young people a strong voice in developing solutions and recommendations that reflect the diversity of opportunities and constraints they face; and
• explore how to achieve affordable and flexible housing within current practice and the housing supply framework.

Key issues

• Young people want more flexibility in the housing system. Some practitioners want to see more 'portable' housing products that would allow young people to move around more easily. The inflexibility of the standard social housing tenancy is a particular issue here.
• Flexible support was seen as vital in enabling young people to make a successful move into independent living.
• Access to practical and financial help, as well as other sources of support and guidance, are the key to successful housing outcomes.
• Although many young people voiced a strong aspiration for home ownership, for others a social housing tenancy was a key aspiration in itself. Practitioners have raised a need to re-think the 'ideal' of home ownership.
• Young people moving out of care, people with disabilities, those from rural areas, and gay and lesbian young people often face particular challenges in moving to independent housing.

Overview

Identifying policy challenges and solutions for 2020 led by Professor David Clapham, Cardiff University

A policy and research project that aims to identify the challenges, and appropriate solutions, that will face housing policy-makers and practitioners in 2020. The final report is due to be published in autumn 2011. You can read more about this project here (PDF, 40KB).

A Viewpoint on young people and housing, led by Julie Rugg, York University

This publication aims to highlight key policy challenges and expose myths in the current policy debate. We aim to bring together people with an interest or influence in this area to discuss this Viewpoint in spring 2010.

Participatory work with young people

This work focuses on young people aged 16 to 25 leading their own work across the UK to:

• develop a Young Person's Charter on housing that will set out the key issues young people face and their recommendations for change; and
• contribute to a blog as an outlet for young people's voices and ideas both as part of the Charter process and more broadly.

Creating flexibility in the housing system

We are working with a range of practitioners to explore what potential there is to create more flexible and affordable housing options for young people within current practice and housing stock. Read more about this project here (Word, 40KB).

Key links

• Hear young people's views on housing policy
• Young people's homeless charter