Families in the UK are the third worst off in Europe when it comes to housing costs.
Findings by the European Union and highlighted by the housing charity Shelter, show that only Denmark and Greece have higher housing costs than the UK.
The EU says that one in six people in the UK (16.5%) are overburdened by housing costs, spending more than 40% of their income on rent or mortgage payments and other property-related costs.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “These figures are the evidence that the UK housing market is deeply dysfunctional. With so many families spending huge amounts of their income on their rent or mortgage, people will be making daily trade-offs between food bills, filling the car tank with petrol, and paying their housing costs.
“And this is not set to get better any time soon. While the situation is bleak at the moment, a succession of governments failing to provide much-needed affordable homes means that the future facing our children and our children’s children is only set to get worse.
“Housing is the largest monthly cost for most people, yet the affordability of housing is not getting the same attention as the monthly costs of other essentials such as food or fuel.
“We believe all political parties must recognise that solving our housing crisis is as fundamental as health and education.”
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