The number of privately rented homes in the UK is on a constant rise whether you like it or not. With that in mind, the focus should maybe become how to make private renting the first choice rather than unsuccessfully try to eliminate it entirely.
For most, when you talk about the Private Rental Sector (PRS), images of young professional in slick outfits and with busy lifestyles come to mind. And that’s fair enough. Those summarised as “The Millennials” are a very big part of the private rented sector.
There is more
As some research by YourMove recently revealed, Generation Rent is ageing. And it’s ageing quite drastically. Over recent years, thousands of people have turned to the PRS for a variety of reasons like a change in location of employment or the breakdown of a marriage.
Regardless of all those changes, renting is still seen as the step before owning your home. It’s seen as a temporary solution that some people might have to go through but no one actually wants to be a part of.
Different things for different generations
Whilst renting is becoming a more common choice for young and old, the reasons and what a renter is looking for vary heavily between generations.
Younger renters, “Generation Y”, are happy to pay extra for high speed internet, somewhere to park their car and maybe even a cleaning service or gym facilities.
Older generations, “the Silver Renter”, prefer to be close to amenities and would pay more for good connections to the wider community.
Whilst younger tenants might have higher aspirations of eventually owning their own home than some Silver Renters do, one value stands strong across the board: the flexibility of renting.
So whether young and old make renting a lifestyle choice or enjoy the out convenience of it for a couple of years, it might be just about time to turn the Private Rental Sector into a first choice, so it doesn’t feel like second best anymore.
