Renting - A transient choice?

 Home ownership has always been deemed a positive decision when looking to purchase a home. However, the idea of saving for many years, being highly in debt and living on barely anything to cover a monthly mortgage seems to be left out of the ownership fairytale.

The Chartered Institute of Housing report, recently released a report, predicting that Britain’s “golden age of home ownership” is coming to an end. With homeowners now needing deposits in excess of £40,000 in the more expensive parts of the country, it seems a generation of young people now face a lifetime of renting. However the truth is that home ownership is simply not suitable for everyone and it seems that only when it stops being considered transient will renting be deemed to be a positive choice

The reality is that renting is not a negative aspect of living at all. Although it may be considered as ‘giving your money away’ it is simply a cheaper and easier way of living than home ownership. Not everybody can afford to own their own house, let alone the high volume of payment for the deposit. Home ownership, it seems has become a very difficult thing to achieve and rather than considering renting or buying as a negative or positive aspect, the two should be viewed as something specific to the mover.

I’ve written articles before regarding the UK’s rates of owner-occupation but what has really interested me recently is the discussion of the group of people formally named the “in-betweens”. This group who are currently earning between £12,000 and £25,000 are clearly too affluent to qualify for social accommodation however they are also not affluent enough to be able to afford to buy.

In this instance the ‘in-betweens’ group are exactly the type to be targeted by a nascent institutional private rented sector. However, although private renting is also specific to the person once again, Government figures recently indicate that 40% of homes in the sector are “non-decent”. This is mainly due to problems such as damp, inadequate bathrooms / kitchens and broken windows, this therefore is a negative aspect.

Rather than considering a renting community as something transient and temporary, it should in this instance be encouraged. For those who cannot afford a mortgage or pay out for hefty deposits on houses, should not be dismissed from the chance to be a part of a community. Only be creating these communities where people actually want to live and thrive will people embrace a sense of comfort and security with long term rental opportunities.