A depressing new report says 30% of UK millennials may never own a home
- 1 in 3 millennials may never own home, a report by the Resolution Foundation claims.
- As millennials begin having families, more children may be raised in insecure, privately rented accommodation.
- The government's housing bill could balloon from £6.3 billion today to £16 billion by 2060, the think tank warned.
- The report called for action to address Britain's housing crisis.
LONDON - One in three UK millennials may never own a home from the cradle to the grave, a new report by the Resolution Foundation has said.
The independent think tank warned on Tuesday that if current trends continue, 33% of millennials could still be renting when they retire and up to half may not own a home during their forties.
The figures could mean many more British children being raised in more insecure privately rented accommodation as millennials begin to have families.
Lindsay Judge, a policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: "Britain's housing problems have developed into a full-blown crisis over recent decades and young people are bearing the brunt - paying a record share of their income on housing in return for living in smaller, rented accommodation."
The government's housing bill could balloon from £6.3 billion today to £16 billion by 2060 as a result of an ageing population and more retirees renting.
The report called for radical reform in the private rented sector to make it fit for housing purpose. The Resolution Foundation's recommendations include:
- Making indeterminate tenancies the sole form of rental contract in England and Wales. These are contracts with no fixed end date, allowing renters more certainty to settle into their surroundings. A form of it was introduced in Scotland that gave more protection to renters and ended "no-fault" evictions. Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland all have indeterminate tenancies.
- Balancing of the needs of tenants with the rights of landlords. A landlord could remove a tenant that fails to pay the rent or treat the property well, or if they wishes to sell or reoccupy the home, but should not be able to simply end the tenancy at short notice without good cause.
- Light-touch rent stabilisation that limits in-tenancy rent rises to CPI inflation for three-year periods.
- A new housing tribunal to ensure landlords and tenants can have disputes resolved swiftly.