UK set to have more renters than home owners by 2039

Although home owners currently make up 65% of the housing market, in the next twenty years that is set to change with over half of the UK due to rent instead. According to VeriSmart – a compliance letting firm, home owners have dropped by 5% since 2010 and these lows are forecasted to continue. Their figures suggest that by 2045, renters will make up 55% of the market which has been a result of buoyant house price growth and slow wage increases.

Executive officer from VeriSmart Jonathon Senior believes;“there is no longer that urgency to make it out the rental sector and secure your own ‘piece of bricks and mortar’”, he believes that the rental market is becoming more and more attractive and as a result; “we are seeing more of us opt for it and stay there much longer than we may have traditionally”.

“there is no longer that urgency to make it out the rental sector and secure your own ‘piece of bricks and mortar’”

But what are the reasons we are becoming a generation of renters? VeriSmart feel although the UK is a nation of aspirational homeowners, schemes such as ‘Build to Rent’ encourage Brits’ to stay put rather than buy. As described by property website ‘Bidwells’; ‘Build to Rent is a term used to describe a private rented residential property, which is designed for rent instead of for sale. As the name suggests, Build to Rent (B2R) involves the building of homes specifically for the rental market. These developments are typically owned by companies (such as property companies or pension and insurance investment companies), and let directly or through an agent’. Other reasons include increases in house prices which have not been matched with continuous higher working wages.

B2R sees more and more Brit’s look to renting within the private sector and studies already suggest that the number in social rental accommodation has also dropped as a result. In comparison to other EU nations, the UK is home to the fifth highest percentage of tenants already, sitting just behind Germany, Austria, France and Denmark and in the next few years, could give these other countries a run for their money.