Managing a Premier League football club is considered to be one of the most precarious and unstable jobs, but new research from SpareRoom reveals that the average Premier League manager’s job span is twice that of the average Minister of State for Housing.
According to a poll of renters by SpareRoom the ongoing housing crisis tops the list of key priorities to be addressed by the government. The issue scored higher than the cost of living, NHS waiting times, inflation, climate change, immigration and crime.
The poll also revealed what renters want to see to help relieve the housing crisis, led by the introduction of rent caps, followed by getting people into empty properties, prioritising residential supply over second homes, building more housing and adding an additional tax on homes that are empty for more than six months.
Since 2010, there have been 16 housing ministers, spending an average of 11 months in the hotseat – equivalent to 334 days. Meanwhile, the average job span for current Premier League managers is 668 days. Lee Rowley has been Minister of State for Housing since November 2023, having previously held the role for seven weeks from September to October 2022.
Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom Director said: “Over a third of the UK’s households currently rent, and for them the housing crisis is the biggest priority from this or the next government, ahead of changes to the NHS and combatting climate change. Plainly speaking, rents are going through the roof: there aren’t enough properties or rooms available to rent, and landlords are being forced to sell up. Rather than getting better, it’s getting worse.
“Just as managers plead for more time to get results, it’s crazy that the role of Housing Minister is treated as a short-term job when it requires stability and a long-term strategy. They’ve barely got their feet under the desk and a grasp of the enormous job in hand when they’re removed and replaced. It’s renters and landlords alike who are suffering at the lack of vision and results.”
