Retirement rentals on the up

Britain’s over 55s are increasingly becoming part of “generation rent” according to a range of sources.

Halifax's 'Generation Rent' report found that despite the launch of schemes like ‘Help to Buy’ to give a boost to people with small deposits, 36% of 20 to 45-year-olds felt they have no realistic prospect of owning their home in the next five years.

Around half of people surveyed in England, Scotland and Wales agreed that Britain will soon become a ‘nation of renters’ and 20% of people aged 23 to 27 said they have no desire to own their own home. The report follows the 2011 Census which also found that the between 2001 and 2011 there was a fall in home ownership for the first time in a century with more people  renting, especially in London a which has the highest number of people  renting at just over 50% of households.

One area where renting is growing fast and becoming more desirable is amongst Britain’s retired population. Retirement rentals specialist Girlings Retirement Rentals says it continues to see a rise in enquiries from older people increasingly attracted by the affordability of renting in later life and the availability of life-time (assured tenancies), which provide security of tenure for life.

Peter Girling, chairman of Girlings Retirement Rentals, said: “Halifax’s Generation Rent report states that a third of adults under the age of 40 want to become homeowners but believe they have no chance to do so. At the other end of the ladder it is a different story, with many people wanting to move from the family home and rent, but unable to find enough suitable purpose built retirement properties.”

According to a report, ‘Top of the ladder,’ published last Autumn by think tank, Demos as part of the Home Builders Federation’s ‘Campaign for Housing in Later Life,’ 3.5 million people over 60 in the UK are interested in retirement housing, but there are only around 500,000 units - 106,000 for home ownership and 400,000 for rent. Only 1% of the UK population lives in retirement housing compared to 17% in the USA and 13% in Austria.

Peter Girling says the interest in retirement rentals will continue to increase, as one in three people will be aged over 55 by 2030 and all are living longer. Peter says, “People want to be able to fund a long and comfortable retirement and renting in a retirement development is a good financial option. With the housing market picking up again, more people will be able to sell their homes, release their capital and rent; ideally on an Assured Tenancy – investing their money to fund their retirement years and access their cash when they need it.”