Nearly 4m Londoners below income for decent living

Nearly four million Londoners are living below the minimum income level to enjoy a decent standard of living, new research shows.

Analysis from Trust for London shows that a majority of private renters, 1.1million children and more than a third of pensioners are now living with less than what is needed for day-to-day life in the capital.

The situation has significantly worsened in the last decade, with the cost of a decent life – labelled the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) – around double what it was in 2014 across London.

This is primarily down to the capital's "chronic" shortage of social housing, the report says, meaning families have to rely on the private rental market.

Research participants concluded that social housing is no longer accessible for any household type in London due to the scarcity, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Renting for an adult is more than twice as expensive in outer London than other UK cities, increasing to three times as expensive in inner London, meaning the income needed to live "with dignity" – defined as being "able to take part in the world around you in a meaningful way" – in London is far more than other UK cities.

A couple with two children each need to earn £37,000 a year in urban UK compared with £49,500 in inner and £46,900 in outer London, the report says.

Incomes "continue to be stretched", the analysis warns, with "few indications of improvements in the second half of the 2020s, particularly for those on the lowest incomes".

"There is no quick fix here, but it is imperative that those in the positions to make positive changes in policy and to make bold decisions about funding start to do so," the report concludes.

"Otherwise, there is a real risk that ten years from now little will have changed, and too many people will continue to live without all that they need for a dignified standard of living in London."

Klara Skrivankova, director of grants at Trust for London said: "This new research exposes a stark truth: social housing is simply not there for the millions of Londoners are struggling to get by.

"Rents in the capital are far higher than anywhere else UK, and more than 300,000 households are stuck on social housing waiting lists.

"The result is that countless Londoners are spending so much just to keep a roof over their heads that they can't afford the basics. This is the everyday reality of the housing crisis."

A spokesperson for the mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, told the LDRS he was "determined to do all he can to support Londoners in the cost of living crisis".

"His work includes rolling out his historic free school meals programme for primary school children across the capital, freezing bus and tram fares and lobbying for measures including rent controls," they said.

"His Cost of Living Hub also provides information on a wide range of benefits and bill reductions, and he has invested millions in advice services which help Londoners realise their financial entitlements, as well as encouraging employers to pay the London Living Wage."

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