Cash point

Britain used to be a nation of homeowners but that’s changing as almost a third of tenants say they don’t plan on ever buying.

Half of renters believe the property ladder will be reserved solely for the feet of the elite in just 15 years’ time, says rental firm Urban Collective.

Seven in 10 say the prospect of renting for ever makes them unhappy, rising to eight in 10 for Londoners – not surprising as the average age people in the capital can afford to buy is 34, compared to 27 in Carlisle, Cumbria.

These findings echo data from the English Housing Survey that shows privately rented household numbers have doubled over the past 16 years, from two million in 2000 to 4.5million in 2015/16. The number of tenants aged from 45 to 54 have shot up 300% in the past five years.

Mayank Mathur, co-founder of Urban Collective, said: “Fifteen years ago renting was a stop-gap until people could save enough to buy. Today, owning a home is a long-term goal and in 15 years’ time it might just be an impossible dream. No wonder the thought of renting for ever makes Brits so unhappy. The rental market has been geared towards serving

landlords, not tenants.”