NO LET UP FOR RENTERS UNABLE TO SAVE TO BUY OWN HOMES
“We are really lucky to be in a situation to move in with family to help us save. Without this break in high rent payments we would be saving for years and years for a deposit,” she said.
Daniella Scott, 37, lives in Pontyclun and has been renting for seven years.
“It was good at first but it’s terrible now,” she said. “We’ve got issues like no heating in the kitchen, rendering work not done. The winters are absolutely Baltic. I’m cooking in my coat.”
Daniella pays £450 a month and has never missed a payment but is currently out of work due to the pandemic and says she cannot afford to buy.
“I suffer from ankylosing spondylitis and the cold really doesn’t help my condition,” she said. “For six years I’ve complained and nothing happens. I’ve got two young boys, including a 15-month old who often gets sick from the cold. I’ve never missed a day’s rent. I’d love to buy in the future but I can’t afford it.”
Statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that for almost any age it is less common to own with a mortgage than 10 or 20 years ago in the UK.
Half of people aged 35 to 44 had a mortgage in 2017 compared with more than two-thirds (68%) in 1997.
Meanwhile statistics from the Welsh Government also show that the number and proportion of privately rented properties in Wales has more than doubled since 2001 when 90,400 of these properties accounted for 7% of estimated dwellings.
By 2019 there were an estimated 207,700 private rented sector houses – despite the number of owneroccupied properties remaining relatively constant.
But how much of the current rental market is down to choice?
Lesley Roberts is a partner at Allsop specialising in the build-to-rent market. She explained that this market has seen a steady rise in the past number of years and is seen as an attractive option for some.
“One reason to look at is that the build-to-rent market is a very stable investment. It is relatively new in the UK but more common in other countries,” she said.
“It was a market that was there back in the 1930s, for example, but went away with legislative changes which made it more difficult for landlords to control investments.
“But the rental market has been quite robust because people need and treasure a place to live and landlords have done a lot to create a community feel in many of these spaces.
“There is a crisis in terms of not enough housing supply as well as issues with affordability but for many people renting is also a choice.
“In many cases renting offers social mobility, flexibility and lifestyle options you wouldn’t otherwise have if you are buying.
“If you look at consumer trends and choices there has been an exponential shift in our mobility because of increased access to information – we can move around and have a better idea of the choices available to us.
“That has brought about a shift in trends regarding how we shop, live, work and play and created a more upwardly mobile society – people who might want to move with family, because of the weather, or social lives without the restrictions of owning a property.
“Home ownership ties you to one place and when renting residents are not stuck in a mortgage. There are rules, of course, but there is also flexibility.”
Ms Roberts said that while people are less able to afford a home than before, renting was proving popular with an increasingly diverse demographic range.
“A lot of our research is quite sitespecific but broadly speaking the biggest part is the 25 to 37 age bracket.
“However, there is a lot of diversity – foreign students, young families, retirees, people who are downsizing, and those on temporary job placements.
“Covid-19 has seen people move due to changing circumstances and often people are renting as a stopgap in situations like this. We are seeing trends in Europe suggesting home ownership is not necessarily the driving factor in many places. It may not be everyone’s favoured option, but it is a good substitute.”
While the positive aspects of renting are evident – less responsibility for issues within a house and increased flexibility and freedom – there is some frustration from those who feel unable to save or get a mortgage.
Matthew believes renters need to be looked on more favourably on when it comes to getting a mortgage.
“Rent is just dead money. You’re no further on the property ladder, you’ve got nothing saved,” he said.
“I think property needs to be moved out of the hands of landlords and to those who live in the properties. The whole nature of home ownership should be changed.”
Rhiannon said she believes the renting system is “definitely unfair”, adding: “For the past year my husband and I have been paying £725 a month rent and even with the pandemic we have never missed a payment.
“I find it very unfair that this information will not go in our favour. It doesn’t make any sense because for the past 10 years we have been paying a mortgage – not our own mortgage but somebody else’s mortgage.
“Why doesn’t this go in our favour when we apply for our own mortgage?
“The change that I would really like to see is 100% mortgages. It is impossible to save while paying such high rent fees and rent is only rising.
“Most of the three-bed houses in my area are £800-plus a month. I would like to be able to show that for years and years I have been paying rent on time and just be approved without the hefty deposit.
“There is a record of all the rent that we have been paying all these years – if I can pay my rent on time for years then obviously I would pay my own mortgage. It is so easy to rent a house but very difficult to be in a position to save thousands for a deposit while paying rent.
“It is almost like you’re trapped. You need the house, therefore you need to rent. It’s very difficult.
“With the help of my family I am hopeful that we will own a home by this time next year. We are very lucky and grateful my parents have allowed us to move in with them to enable us to save quickly. Without them we would be stuck renting for another five years – maybe even longer.”
Lynne said she would also like to see changes. “They need to look at people who have rented for a long time and have had no problems and say: ‘She’s managed to pay rent for however many years with no problems so she should be able to pay a mortgage.’
“It would help so many people in my position.”