Earning up to £45,000 a year would not be seen as a disadvantage by most. But as IAN LLOYD found out, it can be when getting onto the housing ladder

Marc Edwards is 25, single, and a software developer earning around £30,000 a year.

It is no surprise that Mr Edwards, like so many young professional house-hunters who make up London's new poor', would score zero points if he were to apply for social housing courtesy of <a href="http://http://www.barnet.gov.uk">Barnet Council</a>.

A current waiting list of around 6,500 people seeking to be placed in one of Barnet's 12,000 council-owned homes means he would not make it anywhere near its list of priorities.

Last year, the council was able to let just 580 new tenancies, 80 per cent of which were to homeless families.

Mr Edwards, of Alma Road, Muswell Hill, has until his current tenancy agreement expires on November 1 to find a new home.

"I want to buy but will probably have to rent again because my salary will only give me a mortgage of around £100,000," he said.

He is among the new brand of modest earners' in the capital who are caught between two stools. He earns too much to qualify for housing aid, but earns too little to be able to get his foot on the first rung of the housing ladder.

Councillor Brian Salinger, Barnet's cabinet member for housing, said: "Anyone could apply to go on the waiting list for social housing. If they have got a roof over their head at the moment they are not going to get re-housed by the council.

"Clearly anyone who has that sort of income £25,000 to £35,000, we would be looking to advise them to look elsewhere, like the private sector.

"I have a lot of sympathy with people who are struggling to buy but these are the same discussions I can remember having ten, 20, 30 years ago. Where there is a will, people find a way."

Barnet Council's points system gives priority to people living in overcrowded or poor quality homes; people with children who are at risk of becoming homeless; people who need a home for medical reasons and those who do not have facilities like a bath or hot water.

"Equally it is easier to re-house people who are prepared to go to the west of the borough Grahame Park or West Hendon rather than those who are determined to stay in the east Finchley or Barnet," said Mr Salinger.

Having 1,710 residents in Barnet in temporary accommodation the 13th highest in all London boroughs does not help matters.

Figures released this month by homeless charity Shelter show Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme has exacerbated the housing crisis. Since its introduction in 1980, 1.5million homes have been sold with residents eager to cash in after buying their homes at discounts of up to 70 per cent.

More than 750,000 of these have not been replaced. In Barnet, 8,316 homes almost 40 per cent of the council's housing stock have been sold under the Right to Buy scheme since its inception.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott this week announced that the Government was planning to introduce new laws which would allow councils to suspend Right to Buy discounts in areas such as Barnet with severe housing shortages.

Mr Salinger added: "We are just one of 11 local authorities in the country where the number of people that we are accepting a responsibility for re-housing exceeds the total number of properties that we have available to let or re-let each year."

So what options does this leave for our moderate earner' Mr Edwards?

Maria Holden, sales manager for housing association Notting Hill Home Ownership, said he should consider looking into buying a house under a shared-ownership scheme.

Here, the buyer takes a mortgage out on between 25 and 50 per cent of the property and pays a low rent on the rest which is owned by a housing authority.

You can then increase your share until you own your home outright.

The minimum income for shared ownership is £16,500 for a single person and £18,500 for a couple. There is no maximum income, but if the housing association feels you can afford to buy your own place, it will not help you.

Mrs Holden said: "I honestly don't think there are any disadvantages of shared ownership, the only downside is that there is more demand than supply."

But again, applicants are restricted to those regarded as in need. "The scheme is open to existing council and housing association tenants living in the borough and people who are nominated to us by Barnet," she added.

And Mr Edwards himself remains unconvinced. "Shared ownership would probably mean moving into a council house or something that is within the housing association's portfolio," he said.

"I work hard for my money and would like my own house outright."

October 2, 2002 13:00