24% of Households to Rent Privately by 2021

The housing landscape continues to change as homeownership levels fall, more young people seem interested in renting long term and the build to rent sector continues to grow.

It is no surprise then that a recent report from Knight Frank suggests that 1 in 4 households will be living in private rented accommodation by 2021.

There currently approximately 5 million UK households (21%) in private rented accommodation. Due to rising house prices, renting is the only option for some and more and more of the younger generation are now considering renting long term as a suitable option for their needs. The number of renters has doubled over the last 10 years and the latest report from Knight Frank estimates that the number of private renters will grow by around 800,000 over the next five years to 5.79 million (24%) renters.

According to the most recent annual report from the estate agency, there are currently 14.3 million owner-occupiers in the UK, along with 4.3 million social tenants.

This research was carried by YouGov on behalf of Knight Frank and surveyed over 10,000 tenants and 26 major investors. It was found that although three-quarters of renters in the UK are currently living in homes owned by private landlords, they will increasingly rent from large-scale corporate landlords such as City firms and property companies.

The survey found that 68% of renters believe they will still not own a home in 3 years time. 21% of respondents not only felt that renting suited their lifestyle, but it wouldn’t be possible for them to save enough for a deposit.

It was also found that 8% of participants of the survey were not interested in the responsibility of owning a home, followed by 6% stating that their career requires the flexibility that comes with renting.

Head of Residential Capital Markets at Knight Frank, James Mannix, spoke on the current state of the Private Rental Sector (PRS) sector, stating that “The strength of the UK PRS sector has grown demonstrably in recent years. As consumer demand for affordable, flexible accommodation continues to rise, PRS is firmly establishing itself as a key opportunity for institutional grade investment, due to its long-term potential. In order to enhance Build-to-Rent specifically, the main hurdles of planning policy and land supply must be addressed. With both issues being recognised in the recent Housing White Paper, we hope to see the government encourage more Build-to-Rent and help to better identify developable land.”

Categories: Local Events

Published in: A Guide to Joint Ownership, Second Steppers Require Assistance From Parents, Plus More

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