A think tank has called for a radical overhaul of the private rental sector after it identified one third of young people would never own their own home.
In a report published today the Resolution Foundation has put into sharp focus the extent of the UK’s housing crisis, highlighting how at the age of 30 four in ten millennials relied on private renting.
This is double the rate for generation X and four times that for baby boomers at the same age.
With many millennials starting to have children, the Foundation expressed concerns that policy had failed to catch up with the fact that bringing up young families in the private rental sector had become mainstream.
What’s more, the challenges of getting onto property ladder meant many young people faced the prospect of renting ‘from cradle to grave’.
It has called on policy makers to overhaul the private rental sector to make it more fit for raising and children and also for retirement.
The Foundation wants the introduction of indeterminate tenancies as the sole form of contract in England and Wales, as is already in place in Scotland and parts of Europe.
It also called for more balance between the needs of tenants and the rights of landlords, a cap on rent rises to CPI inflation for three years and the creation of a housing tribunal to allow swift resolution of disputes.
And it wants more to be done to encourage home ownership and support for councils to create more affordable homes.
Lindsay Judge, senior policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation said: “If we want to tackle Britain’s ‘here and now’ housing crisis we have to improve conditions for the millions of families living in private rented accommodation.
“That means raising standards and reducing the risks associated with renting through tenancy reform and light touch rent stabilisation.
“For any housing strategy to be relevant and effective for people of all ages, it must include this combination of support for renters, first-time buyers and ultimately a level of housebuilding that matches what the country needs.”
The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said the report had come as Government tax increases discouraged many landlords from investing in new homes to rent out.
David Smith, policy director at the RLA, said: “Ministers need to make pragmatic changes to their approach to private rented housing, with a series of policies that support, rather than attack, the majority of private landlords who are individuals to invest in the new homes to rent we need alongside all other tenures.”
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