Half of the millennial generation could still be renting in their 40s

Half of the millennial generation could still be renting in their 40s and a third could be ‘retiree renters’, a report warns.

The Resolution Foundation think-tank said if home ownership growth followed the ‘weak pattern’ of the 2000s, up to half of millennials born between 1981 and 2000 could be renting when they are in their 40s. 

A third could still be renting when they claim their pension.

The foundation said radical reform was needed to make the private rental sector fit for raising children and retirement because a generation of young people ‘face the prospect of never owning their own home’.

Foundation analyst Lindsay Judge said: ‘Britain’s housing problems have developed into a full-blown crisis over recent decades.

‘While there have been some steps recently to support house building and first-time buyers, up to a third of millennials still face the prospect of renting from cradle to grave.’

A third of all millennials could still be renting when they claim their pensions (stock image)

The foundation said there must be a ‘fair balancing of the needs of tenants with the rights of landlords’, and landlords should not be able to end tenancies at short notice without good cause.

To keep rents stable, rent rises should be limited to the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation over three-year periods, the report said.