In a speech given to the Fabian Society last week John Healy, housing minister, made it clear that the population of the UK is increasingly looking towards renting. In a statement that many with an invested interest in the BTL sector would call blindingly obvious Mr Healy confirmed that people are increasingly turning away from buying their own homes and beginning to rely on rented accommodation to house them.
Seven years ago seventy one percent of all homes in the UK were owner occupied. This figure had dropped by three percent last year and all signs indicate it is likely to decrease further. It seems that the British dream of owning your own home is starting to tarnish slightly.
Interestingly though, Healy does not seem to believe that this attitude was kick started by the recent recession. He says that this move toward the rental sector showed up in figures as far back as 2005.
I do agree with the minister when he states that this trend is not necessarily a bad thing. It is all about perception really. Continental Europe has always been happy to rent privately and use their money in other ways. Owning your own home is not the necessity that we in Britain have so long regarded it as, but rather a lifestyle choice. It may take a long time for the older among us to accept this statement but it seems that some of the younger generations are already there and quite content to rent their home.
