A HOUSING crisis is looming according to a survey that a Bolton campaigner has called “depressing”.

Unaffordable housing, poor quality homes and a lack of availability have seen serious housing problems hit a five-year high.

Maura Jackson, CEO of Bolton Young Persons Housing Scheme (BYPHS), said the report made for “depressing” reading.

Speaking personally, she said that as a wage-earning Boltonian herself, it has taken her three years to save a deposit for her house.

Like many others, she has found private rented prices excessive and has twice had to abandon plans to buy due to “appalling” quality issues.

Mrs Jackson said that trying to rent or buy a house was a process not for the faint hearted.

She said: “Pitfalls and disappointments are inevitable.”

BYPHAS works with young people who are homeless with no money, support and who have experienced trauma, neglect, poverty, abuse and exploitation.

Mrs Jackson said that for such people, trying to navigate their way into housing would be a “nightmare”, especially as they often have low or no income, poverty, debt or poor credit.

She said: “For our client group, the opportunity for housing buying and private renting is a pipe dream. It’s not even on their radar.

“One of our ex-residents from 1998 moved off the scheme into social housing and they have always worked but have only purchased their first home this year, 18 years later.”

The YouGov survey, polled more than 2,000 UK adults and was conducted on behalf of HomeOwners Alliance and BLP. Its findings also paint a bleak future for those wanting to get a foot on the property ladder.

Paula Higgins, chief executive of HomeOwners Alliance, said: “The housing sector in the UK is on its knees. There’s a shortage of building, a constant stream of stories surrounding poor quality and unfair deals for homeowners, a lack of social housing, rising homelessness and a leasehold system that is dangerously broken.

“As our survey shows, these problems have escalated over the last five years and the crisis is deepening.”

The survey found the number of adults saying the quality of homes is a serious problem was 57 per cent — up from 52 per cent in 2014. And 86% of aspiring first-time buyers felt house prices were a serious problem, and 87% felt that saving for a deposit (87%) was also a serious problem.