Number of privately rented houses in England doubles in last decade
As more people choose to rent for longer, the number of properties being privately rented in England has grown 19 per cent and doubled over ten years
Figures from the English Housing Survey for 2013-2014 have revealed a huge increase in the proportion of rented homes found in the UK alongside numerous other trends and patterns.
Between 2004 and 2014 the number of rental properties increased by 19 per cent representing a two-fold rise.
Amongst Brits aged 25 to 34 years, just 33.7 per cent own a home with a mortgage today – a significant drop since a decade ago when well over half (55.6 per cent) were homeowners.
Over the same time period the proportion of this age group living in rented accommodation has soared from just 21 per cent to 48 per cent with 4.4 million households rented privately during 2013-2014. This equates to 19 per cent of all households; an 11 per cent increase from 2003.
Recent rocketing
The recent growth in the number of rented properties in the UK is a relatively new pattern for the market as figures from the 1980s and 1990s show that the proportion of privately rented properties remained consistent at this time at around 10 per cent.
The sudden surge is down to multiple factors such as the removal of rent controls, the assurance of short-hold tenancies becoming standard and the introduction of buy to let mortgages.
Focusing on England’s capital, the amount of London households being privately rented has risen from 14 per cent to 30 per cent in the ten years since the 2003-04 survey.
Analysing the same ten year period, the proportion of owner-occupied properties in London that were purchased without a mortgage dropped from 39 per cent to 27 per cent.
Another interesting finding from the recent survey includes the increase in the number and proportion of privately renting households with children. Within a decade, this percentage rose from 29 per cent to 36 per cent and equals approximately one million more homes.
26th February 2015
