One million older people will rent their homes by 2031

More than a million older people will be renting by 2031 as the full force of financial woe from the pandemic hits their earnings and savings.

Over- 55s are the fastest growing cohort of renters, according to the English Housing Survey. Some 609,000 were renting in 2019, more than double the figure in 2009.

The total will hit one million by 2031 if this pace of growth is maintained, according to Paragon Bank. The firm’s Richard Rowntree said there were other factors contributing to the sharp increase in the over-55s renting, alongside the pandemic. These included rising divorce among older people, poorer pension returns and men living longer. Coronavirus is now likely to accelerate the trends.

“Older people may want to live nearer family, or want a property with more space or a smaller one which is easier to maintain. Divorce is expected to increase and you may see people wanting to access equity from their home to help out family members,” he said.

John Nassari, 50, moved out of his marital home during the first lockdown this year due to family problems and has been renting ever since.

An events photographer based in Hertfordshire, he has lost about 95pc of his income since the pandemic began.

“I haven’t been a renter since 1997. I’ll have to continue renting for a while, as I won’t have the funds to buy another house anytime soon,” said Mr Nassari.

He is now selling more work online, but added: “If the situation carries on much longer, I’ll have to find somewhere cheaper to rent.”

Others are choosing to rent for lifestyle reasons. Tina Earnshaw, 76, is an Oscar and Bafta-nominated make-up designer who rents at Portman Mansions in Marylebone, London. She sold her Georgian mansion in Kent 18 months ago in favour of a “far more manageable” £3,000-a-month, threebedroom city apartment.

“I wanted to move to London to be nearer my children, as my husband had died the year before. For what I wanted I wouldn’t have been able to buy,” said Ms Earnshaw.

She added that renting was much easier at her age. “If anything goes wrong they sort it out for you. It’s also lovely to be able to wander around Marylebone: I grew up here and left at 23 and it’s useful to be in London because I can fly to overseas shoots easily,” she said. “The last film I did was Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and I’m keen to get back to work when the pandemic is over.”

Mr Nassari also said there were positives to the change of scene. “The view of the canal from my window inspired me to write a novel and I set up a new business,” he said.

Matt Staton, of estate agents Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Kay & Co, said there was a clear increase in the number of over-50s renting.

He added: “In some cases it is for a specific reason, such as high level corporate relocations or for recently divorced individuals. However, in the majority of cases it is the flexibility, simplicity and freedom offered by renting that is being sought by this generation.”