Private renters feel they can’t put down roots
The National Housing Federation has found that private renters are now nine times more likely to have moved in the past year than homeowners. And one in four (28%) private renters feel that they can’t put down roots because they might have to move again soon – this rises to almost one third (32%) among renters with children in the household.
As there are now almost nine million private renters in England, that’s more than three million families who do not know when their next move will have to take place and if their children will have to be uprooted from their friends or schools.
The lack of stability that comes with renting is met with the added frustration that most didn’t anticipate they would still be living as a renter at this point in their life. Almost two thirds (63%) of private renters aged 25 – 44 years old said they thought they would have bought their own home by now.
Of all private renters, the majority (56%) say that they’ve rented for longer than planned because they have no alternative.
The National Housing Federation is calling for more homes to be built so that young working families can access the stable housing they need, at a price they can genuinely afford.
Alan Williams at Fenn Wright comments: “This as an important issue for young people whose parents may have found it easier to afford a home in the 1980s.
“As house prices continue to rise, and typical deposits for first-time buyers hit £30,000, youngsters are seeing their dream of home-ownership replaced with a life of renting.
“Many young people feel they have no option other than to move from one short-term let to the next, never able to save enough money to buy because their wages are eaten up by rent.”
“These findings by the National Housing Federation correlate with the more recent government survey on home ownership and will no doubt impact decisions on housing policy and the number of new homes to be built – especially at the affordable level. It is a serious issue that must be addressed. ”