Mortgage brokers are watching the property ladder collapse from the bottom – council housing could be the fix
The rental market, as it currently stands, is unsustainable – and for Charles Calvert, managing director at Easy Mortgages, its existence in this form may not be just flawed but fundamentally broken.
"It feels like we’re in a slow-motion car crash," he said. "We see the wall coming, but we’ve got blinkers on."
The affordability crisis is deepening
The central tension, Calvert argues, lies in a simple equation: incomes are flat, while rents continue to climb. “People are getting poorer, but they’re paying more just to stay in the same place,” he said. That imbalance, over time, makes renting unaffordable, but the alternatives are shrinking too.
Downsizing offers little relief, with smaller homes scarce and social housing decimated. "The safety net’s gone," said Calvert. "Council homes were sold off, and now there’s a waiting list as long as your arm."
Buying is no easier. Mortgage affordability has shifted drastically, from 3x income in earlier decades to figures approaching 10x today. And while lenders still demand deposits, many renters have no way to save. "They’re maxed out just trying to survive each month," Calvert said. "So they can’t rent, they can’t buy, and there’s no council house to fall back on."
Rethinking the function of social housing
Calvert believes the UK must revisit the concept of social housing, not just as a safety net but as a bridge to stability. He sketches a model where part of each rent payment could be redirected into a deposit pot, helping tenants eventually move into ownership.
"It’s about creating mobility," he said. "Temporary support becomes a step forward, not a dead end."
While the idea may sound utopian in the current political climate, the logic is grounded in economic and social reality. Without structural change, demand for rental property will only increase, and with it, the pressure on low-income households.
Consolidation and the loss of local landlords
At the same time, the exit of individual landlords from the market is reshaping the landscape. As buy-to-let becomes less viable, properties are being snapped up by institutional investors. Calvert is concerned about what that means for tenants.
"They’re going to be run like spreadsheets – no flexibility, just margin," he said. "And rents will keep climbing."
The withdrawal of smaller landlords may also reduce market resilience. Many provided informal arrangements, local knowledge, or more adaptable terms, factors often missing in corporate structures.
Reform is possible, but unlikely
Asked whether change is realistic, Calvert doesn’t mince words. "We change everything too often to make any real progress," he said. "Schemes come and go before they’ve had a chance to work."
Real reform, in his view, would require sustained investment over decades. That includes building more council housing, creating transition schemes tied to savings, and reimagining housing support as long-term economic infrastructure.
Yet political cycles and partisan resistance often kill big ideas. "It would take courage, and we haven’t seen much of that," he said.
The trap of property as investment
Part of the problem, Calvert argues, is cultural. The housing market has been treated as a place to speculate, not live. The buy-to-let boom encouraged a mindset in which capital growth took precedence over occupancy and affordability.
"Prices soared, but the result is paralysis," he said. "Without first-time buyers, nothing moves."
The effects are visible even at the top end. High-value homes are sitting unsold as affordability constraints ripple upward through the chain. In Calvert’s analogy, the market is gridlocked: no one can move until the person at the front does.
Valuations, too, have become detached from real conditions. "It’s a false economy," he said. "You don’t realise that equity. You just keep paying."
Focus must return to the bottom of the ladder
For brokers and lenders, the message is not about short-term opportunity but long-term viability. Calvert stresses that the housing market will remain dysfunctional until first-time buyers are back in motion.
"That’s where everything starts," he says. "Not with million-pound homes, but with one-bedroom flats that people can actually afford."
Whether or not the political will exists to restore balance, he remains convinced the current trajectory is untenable. The bottom of the market, he argues, is no longer a starting point – it’s a void.
"The system only works if people can move up through it," Calvert says. "Right now, the bottom rungs are missing – and if we don't rebuild them, the whole ladder collapses."
