A new report by the thinktank Resolution Foundation has found that one in three UK millennials will never own their own home.
The Foundation’s Home Improvements report called those born between 1980 and 1996 “generation rent”, where a many would be forced to retired in rented housing.
“This rising share of retiree renters, coupled with an ageing population, could more than double the housing benefit bill for pensioners from £6.3 billion today to £16 billion by 2060 – highlighting how everyone ultimately pays for failing to tackle Britain’s housing crisis,” it said in the report.
The report emphasises the need for rent control, something Jeremy Corbyn called for last year at the Labour party conference. The report suggests a three-year cap on rent increases.
The tighter controls implemented will be important for families with children living in rented accommodation, which has increased from 600,000 in 2003 to 1.8 million in 2016.
“While insecurity in the private rented sector is often seen as an acceptable risk when childless, the disruption it can cause to schooling, friendship groups and support networks once young people have a family is clearly less than ideal.”
Lindsay Judge, a senior policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Britain’s housing problems have developed into a full-blown crisis and young people are bearing the brunt – paying a record share of their income on housing in return for living in smaller, rented accommodation.
“While there have been some steps recently to support housebuilding and first-time buyers, up to a third of millennials still face the prospect of renting from cradle to grave.
“If we want to tackle Britain’s housing crisis we have to improve conditions for the millions of families living in private rented accommodation. That means raising standards and reducing the risks associating with renting through tenancy reform.”
Other suggestions made in the report to protect the UK’s young people is to discourage second home ownership, reduce the stamp duty for people who own one home and increasing surcharges for those who own more than one home.