Homes for Heroes: huge lack of affordable homes for rural key workers

New analysis finds over nine in ten rural areas are unaffordable for care workers in the private rented sector as rural housing week 2020 begins

CPRE, the countryside charity, and English Rural are calling on the Chancellor to use the upcoming stimulus package to invest in well-designed, genuinely affordable housing for key workers in the communities they serve.

Average private rents in rural areas are unaffordable for vast numbers of key workers, according to new analysis of government figures by CPRE, the countryside charity, released at the start of Rural Housing Week. Having more locally-based key workers boosts the resilience of rural communities, but for care workers alone, over nine in ten (96%) of rural areas are unaffordable to live in – that is, where private rent would cost more than a 35% of their post-tax income.

CPRE and English Rural believe key workers should be able to afford to live in the areas they serve, especially in rural communities where limited transport links do not allow for reliable travel in-between towns and villages. The analysis shows that currently, private rents in many rural local authorities are unaffordable for key workers including:

• Care workers: average private rents are unaffordable for care workers in 96% of rural areas
• Hospital porters: average private rents are unaffordable for hospital porters in 93% of rural areas
• Farmworkers: average private rents are unaffordable for farmworkers in 86% of rural areas
• Youth workers: average private rents are unaffordable for youth workers: in 74% of rural areas
• Bus and coach drivers: average private rents are unaffordable for bus and coach drivers in 67% of rural areas

- The full story can be found on the CPRE website