With more and young people not expecting to get themselves onto the property ladder until their 30s, it looks like more millennials are heading down the route of renting, with many set to continue in the renting sphere for many years.
Home ownership in Britain has slumped by ten per cent in just ten years, as house prices rise and wages consistently fail to meet this amount.
For people born after the 1980s, the millennials, home ownership regularly stretches further and further away from their grasp.
Politicians of every party, such as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, have all vowed that the home ownership flag in Britain will be raised once more, despite this, a recent report has revealed that the latest wave of young people will actually be ‘cradle to grave’ renters.
According to the Think Tank, 40 per cent of all millennials will still be living in rented accommodation by the time they are 30, that’s twice as many as generation Z, consisting of people born between 1965-1980.
Millennials are now being nicknamed ‘generation rent’, with demands increasing daily for more affordable housing schemes for the young.
5.8 million homes will be privately rented by 2012, with the Guardian blaming soaring prices and stagnant wages as the main culprit for the drop in demand and numbers.
The Foundation Homes to Rent are calling for much more help to be supplied to the younger generation, stating that the housing crisis has finally fallen through and the young generation are holding up the timbers.
According to the BBC, although renting in the private sector is accessible and handy for young people and couples with few ties, the Independent claim that the tough renting rules currently in place are placing incredible pressure on families with young children and pets when needing to find a place to live, with the constant fear of the landlord’s whim interrupting the children’s schooling and education.
1.8 million families rent in the UK, this figure is up a staggering 600,000 in just fifteen years and doubling in the past decade.
There are also claims that whilst housing benefit is supplied, its rates are based off what was required from families in the generation before them meaning that they are simply not enough to support young families in their first home.
The current renting set up could also mean that there will be a doubling of the pensioner’s bill, as more people end up renting into their old age, renters over the age of 65 tend to spend half of their income on rent alone, leaving little pension to enjoy.
There are also extensive tenant fees to pay when changing between properties, with many people beginning to recognise that they will be unable to get onto the property due to years in the renting circle.
Housing also counts for a large chunk of public wealth, meaning that the affect will be felt substantially if home owners continue to fall in their numbers due to high costs.
With renting regulations refusing to relax, young people struggling to pay their way and the housing crisis growing to an all-time high, it appears that even Theresa May’s ‘new homes promise’ will do little to combat the wealth inequality in this country when it comes to home owning, especially if banks continue to deny loans to young expectant home owners.
Despite 30 per cent of all renters stating that they are renting a property in order to save for a deposit for a house, it appears that the majority of people are renting simply because they have no other option and whose plans for a deposit are often dampened down by low wages and a high cost of living.
In light of these shocking statistics, more housing charities are calling for more to be done for the current housing crisis happening right now in Britain, suggesting five factors that could improve the prospects of generation rent.
Firstly, they are calling for a cap on private sector renting fees and rent, to prevent millennials from spending the vast majority of their wages on somewhere to live each monthly instalment.
Next, there are demands for a better protection scheme for tenants, to ensure that tenants receive the proper insurance and rights that they are entitled to.
There are many stories of landlords taking ‘revenge’ on tenants after they report a problem and this needs to be an issue that is solved soon in order to give tenants, especially those with young children, the protection and support that they deserve and that they are paying for; and to also stop and prosecute any landlords who are found to be committing these crimes.
Charities are also calling for plenty more social housing to be built at an affordable level to allow young families and couples to get onto the property ladder, there are also plans to stop the right to buy, which gives landlords an £108,000 discount on their properties, and to put housing into the hands of the community.
Whilst all of these suggestions will not happen overnight, they stand as a promising set of standards that if upheld, will hopefully make a difference in the long term future of house renting and house purchasing.
Whilst Theresa May’s plans to build more homes are welcomed by many, if these homes are inaccessible for the young home buyers in terms of price, then they will do very little to actually combat the issue in the first place, leaving yet more homes built but yet more young people unable to purchase them.
