A third of UK renters have no plans to ever buy property, preparing instead for life as a long-term tenant, according to new research by Hillarys.
More than 2,000 tenants, paying an average of £650 per calendar month in rent, were questioned, with just over a third - 35% - stating that they would be happy to continue renting for the rest of their lives.
The study from the home interiors specialist found that just over half – 52% - of tenants are happy with renting, although not all wish to be tenants for life.
Flexibility of moving home freely is cited as the main reason why 37% of people are deterred from buying property, while 27% identified affordability as the biggest barrier due to high property prices.
Some 14% of tenants said that they like not having to worry about repairs, 9% said they are not sure they would want to live anywhere permanently, while 6% said buying a property was too stressful.
The research also revealed that 97% of tenants believe that renters’ rights could be improved, while two-thirds of tenants - 63% - believe that they should be offered first right of refusal if landlords decided to sell.
Tara Hall, spokesperson for Hillarys, commented: “We hear so much about how more people have to rent long term because they can’t get on the property ladder. It’s interesting to see how many are actually happy with this.
“Owning a property isn’t for everyone, especially if you like not being tied down or don’t want to spend months and months saving for huge deposits.”
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Shame government aren’t interested this stat
Insurers should trawl short let sites and charge huge additional premiums on this too lightly taxed group of landlords, especially since proper home-providing landlords are taxed into oblivion and charged higher insurance premiums and mortgage rates.
It is all very well people saying renting is for them.
The big issue is there may not be the rental properties available as the PRS shrinks abd a lot of it is being used for short term letting mostly in breach of lender and insurance conditions.
Rarely will a LL be detected breaching relevant conditions.
This makes the plight of normal tenants a lot harder with reduced supply.
So tenants cannot rely on there always being a private LL to rent from.
Inevitably homeownership is something that many will have to do no matter how much they would prefer not to!!
Afraid tenants will have to realise that there will not necessarily be a LL available who is prepared to take you on.
Far better to pay mortgage rent to a bank than rent to a LL!
So perhaps no matter how reluctantly they enter into homeownership; to do so is actually an imperative for renters so they actually have a guaranteed place to stay.
Yes there are hassles with homeownership but it is the only way to prevent a LL from moving you on!!
Stability has it's hassle factors!!
It really shouldn't be too much hassle to paint the house every 5 years and have the gas boiler serviced etc.
Homeownership has to be an effective form of tenure.
But what I would like to see is a changed attitude from lenders so as to maintain existing resi mortgage terms and rates but give CTL for however long required.
Not doing this just encourages homeowners to game the system.
They still let their resi property but nobody knows.
Clearly risky for a number of reasons but needs must and all that.
Lenders need to recognise that homeowners have changed circumstances and prefer not to sell but let and rent where they need to be.
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