ENFIELD residents are increasingly renting from private landlords as few are able to get a foot on the property ladder, the latest Census figures have revealed.
According to the survey by the Office for National Statistics, the proportion of people who own their own house in the borough dropped sharply over the past decade, from 70 per cent in 2001 to 58 per cent 2011.
While there are 9,518 more households than there were in 2001, the number of those who own their home outright or have taken out a mortgage fell by 7,680.
This is in stark contrast to the proportion of private renters, who increased from 12 per cent to 22 per cent. A total of 26,591 households were renting in the private sector in 2011, compared to 13,105 in 2001.
Enfield Council says that home ownership is increasingly out of reach for people on low and medium incomes as the price of homes has rocketed, while deposit requirements for mortgages have increased and banks are operating tighter lending policies since the financial crash of 2007/08.
In September, the average home in Enfield was worth £262,214 – the London average is £363,802.
With an average household income of £31,559, house prices are now more than eight times the average salary. In 1998, they were just four times the average salary.
And with fewer people able to buy a home, private rents have gone up as a result of increasing demand. Research carried out by the council has found that a typical one-bedroom property costing £174 per week in March had increased to £185 per week in September.
Ahmet Oykener, cabinet member for housing, said: “There has been a shortfall in house building for about 15 years with household growth exceeding new homes by up to 50,000 per year across England since the late 1990s.
“A number of the government’s policies is having the impact of making buying and renting less affordable and changes to benefits, the public sector pay freeze and higher levels of inflation mean costs are rising while incomes are falling, meaning Enfield households are finding it increasingly difficult to rent or buy
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