Most people on lower incomes think they have little or no chance of being allocated social housing, research has shown.
Around 59% of people with a household income of less than £30,000 a year think their chances of getting a social home are either poor or very poor, according to the National Housing Federation.
Nearly two-thirds of people also said they did not understand how social housing was allocated, while 62% of people thought workers now had less chance of being allocated one of the properties than their parents did.
Half of those questioned thought it would take at least five years for them to be allocated an affordable home, and 8% thought they would never get one.
Unsurprisingly, nine out of 10 people thought the Government should invest more money in building social housing.
The Federation said the research showed there was a desperate need for a radical overhaul of the way social housing was allocated, adding that the system needed to be made fairer and more transparent. And it is calling for the allocation system to be changed to make it easier for working families to benefit from low-cost housing.
Demand for social housing has soared by 70% during the past seven years, and the number of people on waiting lists is expected to hit a record high of five million next year, as the recession and rising unemployment continue to fuel demand for the properties.
But the group said the chronic shortage of affordable housing meant homes were increasingly being allocated to people deemed to be a priority need, such as those who were officially classed as being homeless. As a result, people who were in work but on low incomes often ended up further down the pecking order, and had little chance of being housed under the current allocation system.
It is calling for the system to be overhauled, with people categorised into specific groups, such as those who are homeless, people who are priced out of the property market and those who need to move to a new area to get work or study. Each group would then be allocated a proportion of the available social housing, with this decided by local authorities but with minimum levels set.
Speaking at the National Housing Federation's annual conference in the ICC in Birmingham, the group's chief executive David Orr said: "The chronic shortage of social homes in this country has created an allocations system whereby only the most desperate and vulnerable have a realistic chance of getting a home... continues here
Around 59% of people with a household income of less than £30,000 a year think their chances of getting a social home are either poor or very poor, according to the National Housing Federation.
Nearly two-thirds of people also said they did not understand how social housing was allocated, while 62% of people thought workers now had less chance of being allocated one of the properties than their parents did.
Half of those questioned thought it would take at least five years for them to be allocated an affordable home, and 8% thought they would never get one.
Unsurprisingly, nine out of 10 people thought the Government should invest more money in building social housing.
The Federation said the research showed there was a desperate need for a radical overhaul of the way social housing was allocated, adding that the system needed to be made fairer and more transparent. And it is calling for the allocation system to be changed to make it easier for working families to benefit from low-cost housing.
Demand for social housing has soared by 70% during the past seven years, and the number of people on waiting lists is expected to hit a record high of five million next year, as the recession and rising unemployment continue to fuel demand for the properties.
But the group said the chronic shortage of affordable housing meant homes were increasingly being allocated to people deemed to be a priority need, such as those who were officially classed as being homeless. As a result, people who were in work but on low incomes often ended up further down the pecking order, and had little chance of being housed under the current allocation system.
It is calling for the system to be overhauled, with people categorised into specific groups, such as those who are homeless, people who are priced out of the property market and those who need to move to a new area to get work or study. Each group would then be allocated a proportion of the available social housing, with this decided by local authorities but with minimum levels set.
Speaking at the National Housing Federation's annual conference in the ICC in Birmingham, the group's chief executive David Orr said: "The chronic shortage of social homes in this country has created an allocations system whereby only the most desperate and vulnerable have a realistic chance of getting a home... continues here
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