Skip to content

Almost a third of UK tenants feel they will never own their own home

Almost a third of people renting a property in the UK cannot imagine ever owning their own home, a new study has found, with many worried about rent rises.

Overall 31% think they will not be able to buy and 21% think that the removal of mortgage interest tax relief on buy to let properties, which came into force in April 2017, will reduce the supply of rented properties in their area.

Some of the tenants surveyed were also concerned that they will face rent hikes as buy to let landlords pass on the higher costs and 6% said that their landlord had already or will increase the rent as a direct result of the tax changes.

Affordability and access to mortgage loans were key reasons why many Brits rent, the research report from CoCompare Mortgages point out and half of the tenants surveyed live in rented accommodation because they can’t afford to buy their own home. Some 11% were renting because they were currently unable to obtain a mortgage and 14% of those renting were doing so out of preference.

The survey also looked at the profiles of people in rented accommodation, it found that 57% were women, 43% men, 39% were single households, 28% were families with children and 23% were couples. One in 10 share their home with flat or housemates.

‘Our research reveals that half of all tenants are in rental accommodation because they can’t afford to buy their own home. It now looks like many have given up all hope of ever owning a home and, for some, the changes to buy to let regulations are likely to make renting more expensive. In turn, that makes saving for a mortgage even harder,’ said Matt Sanders from GoCompare Mortgages.

‘April saw profound changes to the taxation of buy to let properties which will reduce landlords’ profits and our survey suggests that there is a real concern among tenants that to protect their profits, over time some landlords will increase rents while others may sell up, reducing the stock of available private rented homes,’ he added.

Topics

Related