Survey: Londoners want to move house but still stay in capital

The London Assembly Housing Committee has published results from its new housing survey, which looked into Londoners’ housing situations and attitudes to their homes as a result of COVID-19.



The survey had a number of findings:

• About one in seven (15 per cent) respondents want to leave the city as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Four out of 10 respondents (43 per cent) want to move to a new home.
• Of those that wanted to move: 34 per cent want the home to be out of London and 54 per cent want to remain in the city.
• Of those that wanted to move, when asked about the likelihood of moving within 12 months, around two thirds will definitely, probably or possibly move (22 per cent, 21 per cent and 24 per cent respectively).
• Financial uncertainty, the cost of moving and living in social housing are the biggest reasons for not being able to move home.
• Your own private outside space (garden or balcony) and a generally more spacious home, closely followed by the proximity of public green space, have become important factors for Londoners when thinking about their living situation as a result of the pandemic.

Responses highlighted concerns around affordability of living costs in the capital. Londoners wrote to share their experiences of losing their income and worrying about keeping up with the rent or paying higher electricity bills from being at home all the time. Respondents said that financial uncertainty and the cost of moving were barriers to relocating, whether within the capital or not. In some cases, respondents said that leaving the city was attractive because the cost of living would be lower.

Download Housing survey data March 2021