There has been a substantial increase in the number of middle aged people in the UK renting a home in the private rented sector, many unable to afford to buy, a new analysis shows.
The annual Family Resources Survey, published by the Department for Work and Pensions, reveals that overall the number renting a home has doubled in the past decade.
More than a quarter of those in their late thirties and early forties are now renting while the number in the same age group with a mortgage fell from 60% to less than 50% between 2007 and 2017.
The research also shows that tenants are now more likely to be from a private landlord than from a council or housing association.
The figures show that the proportion of people aged 35 to 44 who rented their homes on the private market went up from 13% in 2007 to 26% last year and those in their late forties and early fifties renting increased from 8% to 14%.
Almost half in their late twenties and early thirties are renters at a time when the shift of the young and middle-aged to the rented sector contrasts with rising numbers of older home owners. Some 74% of over-65s owned property without a mortgage last year, compared with 67% in 2007.
The news has prompted calls for rented accommodation to be of a high standard and also offer middle aged people and those with families more security. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has been campaigning for the provision of longer tenancies.
According to David Smith, policy director at the RLA, the figures confirm the need for longer tenancies but it is not always possible for landlords to do so. ‘Mortgage lenders often prevent landlords offering longer tenancies,’ he said. Indeed, a recent RLA survey found that 44% of landlords have mortgage conditions that limit the maximum length of tenancy that can be offered.
‘The growth in the number of older tenants is one factor behind an increase in demand for rented housing at a time when an increasing number of landlords are not investing in more properties or are selling off homes because of Government tax rises on the sector,’ Smith pointed out.
‘This is making it more difficult in areas of high demand for tenants to find decent accommodation. The Government is increasingly asking the private rented sector to house people in categories that it was never intended or structured to do. Ministers need to undertake a comprehensive review to ensure the support is in place for landlords to meet the changes in the types of tenants in rented housing,’ he added.
Paula Higgins, of the HomeOwners Alliance support group, pointed out that people are stretched financially when it comes to buying and renting. ‘When they split up, a couple can’t each buy a property in the same area that lets them share the children. The danger of all this is the social inequality it will create between the haves, who are home owners, and the have-nots,’ she added.
