Generation Rent says house prices too high for tenants to buy

A statement from activist group Generation Rent suggests there’s a connection between Section 21 and the period of time people rent while saving for a deposit to buy a home.

Ben Twomey says recent interest rate rises and the likelihood of higher deposits being required from buyers means that prospective first time buyers must stay longer in rented accommodation while saving.

He says these increases mean that renters will on average have to rent for longer than ever before being able to accumulate a deposit. 

"Most renters dream of owning their home one day, but the struggle to save has got even worse in the past decade. In much of the country, the typical worker faces at least a decade living and saving in the private rented sector before they have a mortgage deposit. That gets close to two decades for Londoners and even then that’s only possible by sharing with other people into their forties” he claims.

“More people are renting from private landlords for longer stretches of their lives, and want a home that allows them to settle down. That’s why we need the measures in the Renters Reform Bill that will stop landlords evicting tenants without a valid reason, drive out criminal landlords and improve the quality of private rented homes."

Research by his group suggests that in 2012 it would, on average, have taken 6.8 years to save for a deposit for a mortgage. Higher rents and house prices mean it now takes nearly a decade, at 9.6 years to save for a deposit.

The research shows that the region least affected is the North East, where it takes the same amount of time as it did a decade ago (approximately 4.6 years) to save for a deposit; London is the worst affected taking an extra 4.3 years to save for a deposit, making the average time to save for a deposit in the capital some 18.3 years. 

A key element in the expanded timescale is is the increase in the price of the average first time buyer home, which rose by 72 per cent between 2012 to 2023 to £253,202.

The group’s statement says: “With ordinary renters facing many more years in the rental market before being in a position to buy, Generation Rent is calling on MPs to back the Renters Reform Bill and make sure that renters are properly protected from unfair evictions and substandard housing.

“To reduce rents and therefore the length of time it takes to save, Generation Rent is calling on the government to build enough homes in the places people want to live, including social housing which will directly help those most in need.”

The group says it has looked at government data on rents, house prices and salaries to estimate how long it would take the typical single renter to save for a deposit. 

Assuming that tenants saved 20 per cent of the income they had left after tax, student loan contributions and rent, the median renter nationally could save £2,177 per year in 2012, which rose to £2,630 per year in 2022-23, a rise of 21 per cent.

However, Generation Rent claims that because the average 10 per cent deposit for first time buyers of £14,745 in 2012 has now inflated to £25,320, it would take 9.6 years of saving to reach. 

In London the position is even more severe and the statement claims: “The median rent on a one-bed in London is £1,276, 48 per cent of the median salary. A renter realistically could only live in a shared house, but even then it would take 18.3 years to raise the average deposit of £45,979.”

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