Number of under-30s in rented accommodation to rise

The number of young people looking to letting agents for private rented accommodation is set to increase until at least 2020, a report has claimed.

The study, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, suggests that current demand in the rental sector is not set to abate in the coming years. Instead, it will increase until more than one million youngsters are in private rented accommodation by 2020, independent.co.uk reports.

Parallel with this, the number of under-30s owning their own home will fall from current levels of 2.4 million to 1.3 million. The number of youngsters who cannot afford to move out of their parents’ home is also set to increase.

The under-30 age group is said to be the group with the largest expectancy of home ownership, although the report suggests that the real story may end up being the opposite.

Commenting on the results, housing minister Grant Shapps claimed that the government was putting in place legislation to help build thousands more properties in the coming years that can be offered up both for sale or rent.

“I am determined that we pull out all the stops to get Britain building and deliver the affordable homes this country needs, both to buy and rent,” he told guardian.co.uk.

“That’s why, despite the need to cut the record deficit we inherited, we’re investing £4.5 billion in a building programme set to exceed all original expectations and deliver up to 170,000 new affordable homes, on top of a further £1.3 billion to get stalled developments back on track and to build the infrastructure we need to unlock sites for housing.”