York is one of the worst housing blackspots in England, with only three per cent of its homes classed as affordable. MATT CLARK meets the head of an organisation that offers an alternative to buying.

FIFTY years ago, from a small room in King's Manor, a group of volunteers took their first step towards helping people find a place to live in an expensive city.

To begin with, all they had was a terraced house in Bootham Crescent and a couple of properties in Marygate. But from those humble beginnings the multi-million pound charity York Housing Association (YHA) was born. Now the company provides homes and support services to around 850 households in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

Its chief executive, Julia Histon, says social housing has changed over the past five decades. At first they were helping students, now it is people from all walks of life.

"We are a profit for a purpose company," says Julia. "That means any surplus is ploughed straight back into building more homes, because there is such a desperate need for affordable housing in and around York."

The average salary here is £20,000, whereas the average house price is ten times that – ironic for the city in which Seebohm Rowntree showed that poverty is relative to living costs.

Which is one of the reasons YHA, as part of the National Housing Federation (NHF), is campaigning up to the general election for housing to sit far higher on the political agenda.

"When people are voting, they say what matters most is the economy, jobs and the health service," says Julia. "Then you get down to housing at number ten on the list."

So why isn't housing top of the agenda? Perhaps housing is low on election priorities because it’s a personal not a political issue. But there is a housing crisis in the UK and NHF is asking how did this happen and if it’s so bad, why don’t more people care?

In a bid to gain the attention of politicians and the public, NHF is running its Homes for Britain campaign, hoping to create a proper debate on how this country's housing crisis can be solved, once and for all.

In the meantime YHA continues to help people in North Yorkshire find somewhere to live.

It does so in two distinct ways. One is to build an entire estate, such as its recently opened £2 million scheme in Elvington, which comprises 12 properties with affordable rents, and six shared ownership houses.

The other way is to buy up affordable homes on a new development, again letting them out in the same equitable way.

Interestingly, this gives Julia a different perspective to the argument that social housing quotas make projects uneconomic.

"Our experience is that developers are able to make these schemes work," she says. "We buy from private sector builders and they welcome this, especially in a difficult market, because our money for affordable units is secure. The others are subject to market conditions."

Julia is also keen to dispel the idea that cheaper homes are shoddy. YHA's part rented / part owned properties look the same as bought homes and that is deliberate. Julia wants the stigma over renting to change.

"Young people know they can't get on the property ladder, so they're becoming far more European in their thinking; looking instead for a long-term tenure. In the private sector, they normally can't get that, but we offer assured lifetime tenancies."

For families, especially, this sort of security is important and they can live in better properties than they might hope to buy.

"I think 20 years ago, the question of who should do the building was quite controversial," says Julia. "Today there is so much demand for affordable housing that we should all be building.

"But there has to be an acceptance that if you let the market drive things, we'll end up with nothing but expensive private sector housing. Planning laws help to force a mixed tenure."

These days YHA is far more than a social landlord. Half of Julia's staff provide support to the homeless, people with mental health problems, disabilities and so on.

"Some housing associations only want to build, others just support and are not interested in development," says Julia. "We do both."

Health issues are now widely recognised as being linked with housing problems. Indeed clinical practitioners are, for the first time, undertaking ‘social prescribing’ – for example specifying that patients with chronic pulmonary disease need a new boiler to improve their health.

That said, YHA doesn't pretend to have all the answers, which is why having good relationships with specialist groups such as York Mind, The Retreat and Mencap remians crucial.

"Sometimes we are just a stand-alone landlord," says Julia. "The trick is being clear about what we can do well and where we need to call upon other agencies."

Perhaps the biggest change is helping the homeless. The charity owns York's Arc Light and Julia says she is committed to supported housing for vulnerable people.

"We have built something of a specialisation around homelessness. As a landlord if you know how to keep a roof over somebody's head, you know how to advise and support someone who doesn't have a roof over their head."

It's a far cry from finding digs in 1964 for students at York's new university. Not surprising though, because YHA has been leading the way for 50 years.

By the 1970s, the association was pioneering initiatives that have a modern ring. It employed a paid housing manager, long before the concept became fashionable, and introduced a Homes Above the Shop scheme in Micklegate. These days it's all the rage, as the recent refurbishment of the former White Swan Hotel in Piccadilly shows.

By the 1980s, YHA had a strong reputation for design and imaginative use of inner city development sites. It also, in partnership with York Mind, developed supported housing schemes for people with mental health issues.

Another Eighties scheme was Margaret Philipson Court, next to the Merchant Taylors Hall, and named after YHA's housing manager in the 1960s.

It was part of the regeneration of Aldwark urged by Lord Esher’s 1969 conservation study of York, Britain's first, which called for the return of a sizeable population to live within the city walls.

To that end YHA built 20 retirement and sheltered flats. Sylvia Schofield lives one of them.

"People say to me you're lucky aren't you. Living here and facing the Bar Walls," she says. "And I am; I love it here. I can go to bed at night knowing if say the boiler breaks, someone will be sent out to fix it straight away."

Perhaps the association's flagship development is the £2.2m Poppleton Gate House, which provides affordable flats and houses off Boroughbridge Road.

YHA is also a specialist supported housing partner with the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and is one of the partners involved in the re-development of the Discus bungalows site in York.

The charity may be celebrating its 50th birthday, but housing associations have been around since the 19th century. They came into their own during the 1980s, when the role of council housing was reduced by Right to Buy legislation and the emphasis shifted towards the private sector developing new social housing.

Since the recession, groups such as YHA have never been more important. Once they let properties purely to those on low incomes or with particular needs, but with home ownership levels at its lowest level in 25 years, due to rising prices and tougher mortgage criteria, social housing is likely to be the only chance some young people will have to find a home, especially in desirable areas like York.

"Everyone I speak to has a story about housing being an issue and it affects everything," says Julia. "All the political parties recognise this, but nobody seems to know how to tackle it."

If you want to get involved in the National Housing Federation Homes for Britain campaign, go to housing.org.uk