It is broadly recognised that the UK has a housing problem. Most of us have experienced it first hand: whether through unaffordable deposits, poor-quality rental accommodation, exorbitant rent hikes, or having to move back into the family home.

But the sheer scale and shape of the challenge can sometimes be hard to grasp. This is largely because a superficially simple problem – having enough quality homes for everyone to live in – has now morphed into a complex range of interlinked problems, which affect different people in different ways at different times.

In this paper, we try to provide a brief snapshot of the extent of UK’s housing challenge, with the help of 15 charts, covering:

• The gap between housing supply and demand

• The impact this has had on affordability and accessibility 

• Why this is a quality problem, not just a quantity problem

• Some of the key barriers to housebuilding