Owning a home 'not an option for my generation'
Martin Heath/BBCYoung people in Hertfordshire are calling on the government to provide affordable places for them to live.
One couple paying £900 per month for a flat "with no space" said they were relying on food banks and family hand-outs.
A 17-year-old whose case was raised in Parliament said young people were "not really given the option of owning" their own home.
The government said the new Renters' Rights Act was giving tenants more protection and thousands of new affordable homes were being built.
Parker and Billy, who are in their early 20s, are living in a "little box flat" in Knebworth which costs £900 per month.
"Our bedroom is our living room," said Parker, "and there is literally no space at all."
He added: "My partner was in and out of work and he couldn't find anywhere that would take him on as well as me because I'm a university student."
ParkerParker said that, even though it is now illegal for landlords to advertise that they do not take benefit claimants, some property owners still make it clear that they will not accept tenants on benefits.
"We literally have to go to food banks [and] rely on family and friends to help us get through."
They said the government "need to do better for young people and people who are on a low income".
Martin Heath/BBCHannah is 17 and still living at home, but she is so worried about the future that she shared her concerns with her local MP, Victoria Collins.
Collins, a Liberal Democrat, used Prime Minister's Questions to tell Keir Starmer that Hannah "could never dream of owning her own home and will have to leave the place where she grew up".
She urged Starmer, since replaced as prime minister by Andy Burnham, to talk to Hannah about how the government's "top-down targets" were not delivering the affordable homes that were needed.
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Hannah told the BBC: "I'm feeling very disheartened about not being able to buy a home in the near future or in the far future even, especially compared to the previous generations like my parents' generation."
She believes it is not just the cost of houses that makes them unviable for young people.
She said: "The houses that are being built currently aren't really near shops or jobs or public transport which is also an issue for young people, many of whom don't have a car or don't know how to drive.
"We can't really participate in the economy if we're nowhere near anything when we're living in the houses that are being built."
Getty ImagesCollins said she raised the issue in parliament because she is "genuinely heartbroken" about the situation young people find themselves in.
She added that she could not promise Hannah that she would have the choice of staying in the area with an affordable house.
"It breaks my heart," she said, "because the whole message is around supposedly building to deliver homes that we need for our communities.
"And that's just not happening."
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We're building the homes this country needs to make housing more affordable, including record £39 billion investment in social and affordable housing.
"Renters are protected against excessive rises via our landmark Renters' Rights Act, giving them stronger powers to challenge increases above market rate.
"In addition, our cost of living measures announced this week will help ease living pressures."
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