Affordability of housing in the United Kingdom  Affordability of housing in the UK reflects the ability to rent or buy property. Housing tenure in the UK has the following main types: Owner-occupied; Private Rented Sector (PRS); and Social Rented Sector (SRS). The affordability of housing in the UK varies widely on a regional basis – house prices and rents will differ as a result of market factors such as the state of the local economy, transport links and the supply of housing. For owner-occupied property key determinants of affordability are: house prices; income; interest rates; and purchase costs. For rented property, PRS rents will largely be a reflection of house prices, while SRS rents are set by Local Authorities, Housing Associations or similar. Land Registry figures for England and Wales show that house prices rose from £70,000 to £224,000 in the 20 years between 1998 and 2018. Growth was almost continuous during the period, save for a two-year period of decline around 2008 as a result of the banking crisis. The gap between average income and average house prices has changed between 1985 and 2015 from twice an average salary to up to six times average income. Median house prices in London the median house now cost up to 12 times the median London salary. In 1995, 19,000 and the median house price was £83,000, 4.4 times median income. By 2012-13, the median income in London had increased to £24,600 and the median London house price had increased to £300,000, 12.2 times median income   In 1995 the Bank Base Rate was 6%, in March 2009 it stood at 0.5% until August 2016 when it was further reduced to 0.25%. An analysis by the LSE and the Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis found that house prices in England would have been 35% cheaper without regulatory constraints. A report by the Adam Smith Institute found that by using 4% of London's green belt, one million homes could be built within 10 minutes walk of a railway station. "The Economist" has criticised green belt policy, saying that unless more houses are built through reforming planning laws and releasing green belt land, then housing space will need to be rationed out. It noted that if general inflation had risen as fast as housing prices had since 1971, a chicken would cost £51; and that Britain is "building less homes today than at any point since the 1920s". According to the independent Institute of Economic Affairs, there is "overwhelming empirical evidence that planning restrictions have a substantial impact on housing costs" and are the main reason why housing was two and a half times more expensive in 2011 than it was in 1975.