The housing shortage in the UK is so acute that 63 per cent of adults who have children living at home believe their children will not be able to afford to live in their community when they leave home.

The risk is a hollowing out of communities and families being forced to live farther apart.

The findings, based on a YouGov survey commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), indicate that a potential 15 million people in the UK fear that their children must move away from the community in which they live in order to find a home.

The survey of 2,307 people throughout the UK, aged over 18, was undertaken online between 25 and 27 May 2010 to look at the impact of the recession on attitudes to housing. The sample included homeowners, private renters and people living in social housing and all types of living situations.

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CIH Chief Executive Sarah Webb said: "We built 113,000 homes in England last year, around 100,000 fewer than local communities and experts have said we need in order to meet demand. The shortage of homes for sale and rent at affordable levels in almost every community is already hitting younger people hard, with the average age of first time buyers now at 31 with help from mum and dad, and 37 without their help."

At the same time the CIH survey revealed a small but active minority of generally older home owners who are opposed to new housing being built in their area. 15 per cent of respondents agreed that they were opposed to new homes being built in their area and this rose to 20 per cent of retired people and 22 per cent of those who owned their home outright.

The government is making radical changes to planning and to incentivise local communities to support new homes.

(CD/GK)