Renting for life – what’s the problem?

Letting Agent Today claims that a third of millennials will never own their own home. The report quotes new research from interiors firm Thomas Sanderson showing why the rental market is seeing such strong demand: it reveals that 28% of people under the age of 35 have no money set aside for a deposit on a house. Of the remaining 72%, the average amount people had saved was just over ￡6000 – that’s under a fifth of the average deposit for a house in the UK. And 30% of Britons aged 18 to 35 years old say they have given up on the idea of owning their own home completely.

What all this adds up to, is that large numbers of us will be living in the rented sector, not only while we are young and single but once we’re married and start a family, into middle-age and beyond. Research from the Resolution Foundation and Shelter predicts that by 2025, 33% of families with children living in London will be renting.

So given that more of us will be renting for longer – or for our whole lives – should we be moving to a regime more like the European model. In Germany for example, tenants have extensive rights including security of tenure, assured rental rates and protection from hardship caused by unfair practices.

These aspects of a highly-regulated rental market are great for tenants but may be viewed less favourably by landlords the majority of whom, understandably, want to be in control of their own property. They want to be able to decide who lives in it and for how long. If tenants prove troublesome they want to be able to evict them. Conversely, if tenants are happy in their home, easy to deal with and pay their rent on time, most landlords will let them stay for as long as both parties are happy.

Getting the balance right by ensuring legislation works for both sides of the renting equation is the job of government – but it’s not an easy task. New legislation coming forward aims to tackle some of these issues and stronger regulation around property agency will undoubtedly help too. Dealing with the fall-out when landlords and tenants clash is part and parcel of our role as property managers. Alongside our technical and professional role as agents we often feel we should win prizes for diplomacy too!

Vidhya Alakeson, director of research at the Resolution Foundation, said recently that families who rent need security in a regulated market. “With children attached to schools and parents to work, it is critical for households – and for society – that families can find stable and secure rented accommodation to raise their children in.” That sounds about right to us. What do you think?