Record number of pensioners renting their home as tenants get older

AROUND ONE in every 12 private rental sector tenants is a pensioner, a lettings index has found.

Across Britain, retired people now account for eight per cent of tenants, compared with around one in 20 (5.2 per cent) in 2007, lettings network Countrywide found.

It said around £1 in every £14 paid by tenants across Britain now comes from a pensioner’s wallet.

Across Britain, more than half of tenant pensioners live alone, Countrywide said.

Johnny Morris, research director at Countrywide, said: “The rental market can no longer be typified by the image of carefree, young professionals.

“More than half of tenants are over 30 and the number of pensioners renting has reached record levels.

“And with younger generations growing up much less likely to be homeowners, tenants are getting older with an ever more diverse group of people calling the rented sector home.”

The average retiree pays £810 per month in rent.

This figure is said to be around 12 per cent lower than the typical tenant, with people in the older age group tending to live in smaller properties, Countrywide said.

It estimates that over the last 12 months, retired people paid a record £3.7bn in rent, a total which has more than tripled compared with the £1.2bn, they paid a decade earlier, in 2007.

Three-quarters of pensioner renters will live in a one or two bedroom home. This compares with the figure for two-thirds of all tenants.

Retirees also make up a greater proportion of tenants in those parts of the country or urban areas where rents are generally lower, Countrywide said.