Generation Rent

The rise of the rental generation

Once up on a time, it used to be said that an Englishman’s home was his castle.
Certainly for Gen Xers growing up, the order of play was: (1) get education, (2) get job, (3) get house, (4) get married, etc… And so we did. Yet in the past decade, or so it seems, step-3 ‘get a house’ has become an increasingly tall order.

Where once you could reasonably expect to save hard and get a foot on the housing ladder, albeit a studio or one bedroomed flat (or maybe a ‘doer-upper’), today the odds are much harder. The prospect of a home (or castle) of your own feels out of reach for so many.

Introducing Generation Rent*

Generation Rent is a term that has gained increasing recognition in the property market over recent times. It encompasses 18 – 40 year-olds – that’s Millennials and Gen Zs in demographic terms – who have, to all intents and purposes, been priced out of the housing market. Unable to afford to buy a home they are forced to rent privately for longer periods of their lives.

Causes and effects

High house prices, slow wage growth, and a challenging job market have conspired to unbalance the previous equation. The numbers no longer add up and borrowing 3 or 4 times your annual salary will, unfortunately, not get the average UK salary earner close enough to the sum required to purchase a home in London or the Southeast. You might have better luck the further north you travel.

Add to this a raft of other factors such as the increase in the general cost of living, the reduction in disposable income, fluctuating mortgage rates and an unstable economic outlook, it’s easy to see why this divide is widening. Look back a couple of decades and you might remember when borrowing money was cheap, mortgage incentives were generous, and lenders thought nothing of lending 98% of the full asking price. Sadly, those days have now gone and nervous lenders, fearful of defaulters, insist upon hefty deposits and guarantees. The Bank of Mum & Dad has its work cut out.

The term Generation Rent is therefore poignant and highlights the difficulties this generation faces in achieving homeownership and the negative impacts, such as a lack of security and difficulty settling down. It has typically become harder to acquire the status of homeowner before the age of 30 across the country, but buying in London has moved even further out of reach for most. London property ownership is the domain of the wealthy.

Rental stock is more important than ever

Given the status quo, the need for rental property in both the social and private rental sector (PRS) is paramount. When there is a plentiful stock of rental housing, rents remain competitive, but when the rental market is depleted, it creates a state of scarcity, putting demand and prices up.

Pressure all round

Ironically, the Government and Councils are contributing to the problem. Stringent new building regulations and restrictions on house builders has steadily slowed and hindered the rate of new house builds. Simply put, more homes are needed but the pipeline is slow.

The threat of increased taxes on Landlords from all angles, plus the demands by Councils for additional fees such as HMO taxes is thwarting the profitability and viability of owning rental properties. Whether a small one-or-two property pension portfolio, or a larger HMO or block ownership, Landlords are all similarly scratching their chins in despair.

If you’d like help with optimising your property portfolio, give our resourceful team a call on 020 3637 7968 or email info@mihproperty.co.uk

*There is also now a generationrent.org website dedicated to supporting those in rental properties