Housing

Housing provides us with shelter, security and a base for everyday activities. It is perhaps one of the most basic quality of life requirements. Yet with increasing demand for housing in the southeast, owning a property is becoming increasingly difficult for many.

Households in Hertfordshire

At the 1st of April 2005 there were 444,927 residential properties in Hertfordshire. The majority of these properties are in private ownership, with the remainder owned and let by either local authorities or registered social landlords. The split in tenure across all ten Hertfordshire districts as of the 1st April 2005 is shown in the chart below:

Hertfordshire - Dwelling stock by district and tenure 1/4/2005

Source: ODPM Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 2005 - download and view this data in excel

Indicator HS1 - Affordable housing (house price/earnings affordability ratio)

The affordability of housing is an important indicator of quality of life as it determines the size, type and location of the property that people can live in. House prices in Hertfordshire are particularly high due the pleasant surroundings, close proximity to London, excellent rail and road links and relative scarcity of suitable land for development in comparison with other areas of the UK. For this reason ownership of housing is increasingly becoming unaffordable for a large and growing percentage of the local population.

Hertfordshire has a mixture of urban and rural areas, and so there is a challenge to deliver sustainable affordable housing that supports growth in small rural communities, as well as meeting the regeneration and renewal needs of urban areas.

Hertfordshire - Earnings affordability ratio by gender

Source: ODPM Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 2005 - download and view this data in excel

Average house prices in Hertfordshire

With the exception of prices for flats and maisonettes, house prices in Hertfordshire are considerably higher than the national average (see table below). The average house price in Hertfordshire recorded in the period July to September 2005 was &262,970, this compares to the UK average of &194,589 recorded during the same period. Even the least expensive accommodation is over five times the average annual household income for Hertfordshire.

Rented accommodation

Privately rented accommodation, though more accessible, is also costly (see table below). To help address the problem, local authorities in Hertfordshire have been striving to provide more 'affordable housing' for those on lower incomes. Affordable housing is usually rented accommodation, offered at below the market rate, but can also include shared ownership and other forms of intermediate housing. This is achieved partly through the use of the current planning system, which requires private developers to provide a proportion of affordable housing on eligible sites through local negotiation, and partly through the creative use of brownfield land (previously developed land).

The 2003 Hertfordshire Key Workers Study determined that 'access to home ownership is beyond the reach of around 80% of key worker households in the survey'. The essential work carried out by key workers, such as those employed in the education and health sectors, is vital to the quality of life of local people.

Hertfordshire: Land Regsitry Property Prices July - Sept 2005
Local Authority	Property prices 2005
Local Authority	Detached	Semi Detached	Terraced	Flat	Average	Average 2004	% change 04/05
Broxbourne	408564	240465	201080	145624	222653	212986	+4.5%
Dacorum	469874	270377	198612	148949	262646	251672	+4.4%
East Herts	444108	257938	210869	167053	267127	255419	+4.6%
Hertsmere	609437	268627	228785	179123	309228	279056	+10.8%
North Herts	378615	234010	186206	126445	230743	227144	+1.6%
St Albans	517877	342739	255106	179487	329634	320069	+3.0%
Stevenage	317964	199936	153993	114110	165175	170935	-3.4%
Three Rivers	633604	259758	212215	175614	330787	316594	+4.5%
Watford	432187	252246	197721	162057	220521	207759	+6.1%
Welwyn Hatfield	475853	251516	202541	155814	246252	238162	+3.4%
Herts	482616	265375	203698	157864	262970	250814	+4.8%
England & Wales	301771	177087	151826	174886	194589	187971	+3.5%

Source: Land Registry

Rented accomodation in Hertfordshire June 04 - June 05
Local Authority	1 bed flats monthy rent levels June 04			1 bed flats monthy rent levels June 05
Local Authority	Min £	Max £	Average £	Min £	Max £	Average £
Broxbourne	450	650	568	450	775	559
Dacorum	475	695	577	500	750	616
East Herts	465	650	550	550	725	600
Hertsmere	560	636	595	625	705	696
North Herts	425	550	475	400	565	489
St Albans	650	850	764	525	950	737
Stevenage	n/a	n/a	n/a	485	575	521
Three Rivers	450	750	597	475	950	689
Watford	525	700	500	500	700	607
Welwyn	425	695	546	475	850	593

With this in mind, a proportion of local affordable housing is targeted at identified key workers. The Government has introduced various initiatives to assist key workers to find more affordable homes, such as the 'Key Workers Living Scheme', which assists key workers in London, the South-East and East of England.

Indicator HS2 - Statutorily unfit homes

Neglect and a lack of maintenance will over a period of time lead to a property falling in to disrepair or becoming unfit for occupation. The responsibility for carrying out the necessary repairs lies with the owner of the property, who may be a private individual, a local authority, a housing association, or other public or private organisation. In cases where homeowners are not able to fund these works, assistance is needed to prevent existing housing conditions getting any worse. Consequently, local authorities can make available certain loans and grants to help people in difficult financial circumstances to improve their homes.

Each year, local authorities also estimate the total number of homes in their area that are deemed to be unfit, and seek to address the problem of those that do not meet the national Decent Homes Standard as part of their own Local Housing Strategies. All local authority and housing association properties are expected to meet the prescribed Decent Homes Standard by the Government's target date of 2010.

Though the overall number of statutorily unfit homes is relatively low across Hertfordshire, local authorities are working to reduce the number further to improve the overall quality of life.

Hertfordshire - Numbers of unfit homes per 1,000 dwellings

Source: ODPM Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 2005 - download and view this data in excel

Indicator HS3 - Homelessness

In July 2002, the Government implemented the Homelessness Act, which required all local authorities to undertake a review of homelessness in their area, and to produce 5-year Local Homelessness Strategies from July 2003.

These strategies set out the local authority's objectives for providing services for homeless people, and to prevent the incidence of homelessness by securing appropriate advice and accommodation for local people. Progress towards meeting the objectives set out in Local Homelessness Strategies within Hertfordshire is regularly monitored by each local authority in partnership with other housing providers and housing support organisations in their area.

No local authority now uses bed & breakfast accommodation for homeless households except in an emergency (and for no longer than a maximum of 6 weeks), and the Government has set a target to halve the total number of households in temporary accommodation by 2010.

The following chart shows the number of homeless household acceptances in Hertfordshire between 2001/02 and 2004/05. In general homeless household acceptances have been declining in recent years, however in 2004/05 there was slight rise in the County from 1,497 in 2003/04 to 1,577 in 2004/05, although this represents an upward trend in only five out of the ten districts in the County.

Hertfordshire - Homeless household acceptances

Source: ODPM Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix 2005 - download and view this data in excel