Shelter Finds No Affordable Homes in Hammersmith and Fulham

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Charity's boss calls on next government to stop talking and act swiftly

A new report by Shelter has found just 43 affordable homes in London - and none at all in Hammersmith and Fulham.

The housing and homelessness charity researched two-bedroom homes listed for sale on property website Zoopla.

Taking the average working family income of £30,748 as a benchmark, the charity calculated which mortgages would be affordable - and identified fewer than 50 suitable homes in the capital.

Some of these were either houseboats or in one case a mobile home. That number represents just 0.1 per cent of the potentially suitable homes advertised in London.

In 13 London boroughs Shelter found no affordable houses at all. They were Croydon, Enfield, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and the City of Westminster.

Elsewhere in Britain the number improves but still low, with just 17pc of properties affordable for a typical working family across the country.

The charity's chief exec Campbell Robb says: "For the next government, whoever that may be, it's time for the talk to stop and the work to begin.

"Politicians need to act swiftly to deliver the plan that will build the 250,000 homes a year we need."

May 1, 2015