St Albans, a city in Hertfordshire, has been deemed the least affordable place to live outside of central London due to the average cost of a house being 17 times more than the average yearly earnings of residents. Despite loving the city and being part of a great community, many individuals find it frustrating that they cannot afford to own a home in St Albans. Freelancer Alex Haddon and cafe worker Jess Distill are just two examples, who feel that the high cost of homeownership in the city is prohibitive, despite the current and former residents looking for a happy medium. The housing and job markets are very difficult, and people are finding themselves in a situation where they must choose between buying a house and enjoying their lives.
Moreover, student Maisy Jay, who is born and bred in St Albans, doubts whether she will ever be able to afford homeownership in the city due to rising living costs and high housing prices. She believes that one possible solution could be creating more affordable homes and increasing salaries. Chris Cooke, a director at Daniels estate agents in St Albans, suggests that turning former offices into housing could help those who are struggling as these properties are usually 25% cheaper per sq. ft than their traditional counterparts.
In terms of political party promises, the Conservatives would build homes prioritizing brownfield development while permanently waiving stamp duty tax for first-time homebuyers of properties that cost up to £425,000. The Labour party, on the other hand, would reform planning rules and fast-track development on brownfield and grey belt land such as car parks. Additionally, they support more rights for renters, including extending an existing scheme that helps people get a mortgage with a smaller deposit. The Liberal Democrats would like to build more social housing and new “garden cities,” while supporting local authorities that want to ban no-fault evictions, end the “right to buy” policy for council housing, and create a national register of licensed landlords. The Green Party aims to invest in new social housing, create higher environmental standards for new builds, require more affordable housing units, and support rent controls and an eviction ban. Finally, Reform UK would like to fast-track planning, offer tax incentives for brownfield development, give tax breaks to small-scale landlords, and prioritize social housing for people born in the UK
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