It’s buy-buy to ageing Generation Rent

THE total rent bill paid by millennials – often dubbed Generation Rent – has shrunk by more than £9billion in four years, a study shows.

Fewer of those born between 1980 and 1996 are now doing it privately, according to estate and letting agent Hamptons.

As some are now in their 40s, with families and homes of their own, their total rent bill has fallen from a peak of £33.3billion in 2017 to £24billion. They now account for 42 per cent of rent paid across Britain.

If current trends continue, millennials could be paying the same amount to lease places as Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – within five years, Hamptons predicts. Those in Generation Z, many of whom live with their parents, are estimated to be paying a total of £3.6billion in rent this year.

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at the agent, said: “Leaving home in the middle of a financial crisis, like most millennials did, made buying a home difficult.”