More families are renting and fewer people expect to ever own a home

The latest English Housing Survey has highlighted a number of trends in housing, including the leap in the number of families renting privately, the rise of people in work claiming housing benefit, and many people’s thwarted dreams of home ownership.

More families are renting privately

The proportion of families with children living in the private rented sector increased from 30% in 2004-05 to 37% in 2014-15. This equates to about 912,000 more households with children in the private rented sector in the past 10 years.

First-time buyers are getting older

In 2014-15, the average age of first-time buyers was 33, up from 31 in 2004-05. Younger people (between the ages of 25 and 34) are much more likely to rent privately than buy a property with a mortgage. In 2004-05, 24% of those aged 25-34 lived in the private rented sector. By 2014-15 this had increased to 46%. Over the same period, the proportion of young people buying with a mortgage decreased from 54% to 34% – so young people are much more likely to rent than own their own home.

Fewer private renters expect to ever own their own home

In 2014-15, 57% of private renters told researchers they expected to buy a property at some point in the future, down from 61% in 2013-14.

But people in social housing are more optimistic

Just over half (52%) of existing council tenants and a third (35%) of housing association tenants expect to buy their current home. The overall proportion of social tenants who expect to buy their current home has increased from 35% in 2010-11 to 42% in 2014-15. This follows the increase of right-to-buy discounts, and the planned extension of right to buy to housing association tenants.

More working households now receive housing benefit

Between 2013-14 and 2014-15, the proportion of non-working private renters claiming housing benefit declined from 57% to 49%. At the same time, the proportion of private renters in work and claiming housing benefit increased from 14% to 18%.

More people own outright than with a mortgage – except in London

In 2014-15, there were more outright owners (33%) than those with mortgages (30%) in England. This is not the case in London where there were more people with a mortgage (27%) than outright owners (23%), owing in part to the number of younger people living in London and the capital’s high housing costs.

The private rented sector has doubled in size since 2002

Since 2002, the private rented sector has almost doubled, from 10% to 19% in 2014-15. By contrast, the social rented sector has nearly halved, from 31% of all households in 1980, to 17% in 2014-15.

The big decrease in social housing is down to right to buy, with few houses sold being replaced. The increase in the private rental sector is also partly attributable to right to buy: a recent select committee report revealed 40% of properties bought through right to buy are now in the private rented sector.

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