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# Housing crisis on Arran leaves hundreds of islanders without homes (The Guardian, 22 Apr 2019)

* **Housing crisis on Arran leaves hundreds of islanders without homes**
* By Severin Carrell and James McEnaney. Published in the Guardian on 22 April 2019
* <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/22/housing-crisis-on-arran-leaves-hundreds-of-islanders-without-homes>
* **Summary**:
  * The Arran Economic Group (AEG) **hopes to be the first community organisation in Scotland to use government funds to build dozens of affordable homes aimed at local workers**, which will be given out based on economic rather than social need.
  * The group, made up of local business people and community activists, believes houses on the island are among the least affordable in the UK. **Arran’s average annual wage is £24,000, but average house prices are eight to 10 times that**, giving it an affordability ratio nearly as bad as in London.
  * **The problem has been exacerbated by the number of properties used for tourists or bought by retirees**, who take up a significant number of homes on the island, pushing up prices and resulting in shortages of homes to rent.
  * An investigation by the Guardian has found that **23% of the houses on Arran are used for holiday homes or second homes**. This is one of the highest rates in the UK, and is thought to be second only to St Ives in Cornwall where a quarter of properties are holiday homes.
* **Keywords**: Arran, Arran Economic Group, AEG, Scotland, United Kingdom, UK, affordability, property market, tourism, holiday homes, second hoes, St Ives, Cornwall, England