The renters refusing to be ‘trapped' by homeownership

Telegraph

6 days ago

It is widely assumed that every young person has an ambition to buy their own home.
Each government has tried to lure voters with policies to boost homeownership. It's a rite of passage in a country obsessed with property.
For some young people, the soaring cost of buying of a home has shut them out entirely and consigned them to renting whether they want to or not.
Young people are buying their first homes later and later, marooned from the property market by high prices and mortgage rates.
But for others, who might be able to afford to buy a home, those years of saving and sacrificing to put down roots are not worth it. This group is mobile, less likely to have children and wary of commitment.
Some argue that the stability that comes with owning a home was once a selling point. Now, however, it would be an albatross around their necks.
So, they are swearing against homeownership for good.
'I've always seen mortgages as a bit of a trap'
Hayley Knight, 37, runs a communications agency. She currently rents a room at a friend's house in Islington and has no desire to ever buy a house.
'I've always seen a mortgage as a bit of a trap. I've rented for years, [though] it's not necessarily a cheaper option.'
For some, buying property represents being tied to one place when they crave flexibility. Knight adds: 'I set my business up on the basis of it being purely remote and being able to work from anywhere in the world.
'I don't want any of the commitment [of owning a home] – it doesn't fit into the lifestyle that I have.'
Maisie Bamford, 34, rents a flat in Leicester, having previously lived in London. She has no plans to buy a home for the foreseeable future.
'I'm happy here, and it's affordable to me. My life goals have changed – buying a property isn't something that's so important to me any more. I'd rather use my savings for life experiences, having extra money in the bank in case I ever want to travel or move to a different part of the UK.
'[Renting] gives me much more freedom, I don't want to be tied down to a specific location. Even if you buy somewhere and rent it out, you still have to be around to manage it.'
Elle Sherwood, 24, grew up in Twickenham, south west London, but has moved out and rents in a shared house. She does not envision wanting to buy property in the future.
'Renting gives me choice and flexibility, without the huge financial commitment of buying a property. Also, as my dad's only child, I wouldn't want to be tied down to an area if something happened to him and I had to up sticks. Not being tied to any one space is huge to me.'
A lack of ties
Part of that desire for freedom is a lack of ties to one location – and for the growing number of young people opting not to have children, the need for a permanent home is diminishing.
The age at which women have children has been steadily increasing for decades. In 2023, women were 30.9 years old at childbirth, which has generally been increasing since the mid-1970s.
More than a third of teenagers do not want to have children in the future, according to research by University College London.
Bamford says: 'Not planning on having children in the near future has shaped [my decision not to buy a house] too.
'More and more people my age are choosing not to have children. Often people settle down near parents and grandparents because they have kids. I don't have that, and a lot of my friends feel the same.'
Knight says: 'I don't want children, but if I were to start a family, I wouldn't want to bring them up here. I don't think there's much of a sense of community in the UK any more – everyone is out for themselves.'
The lure of a life abroad
The rise of remote working has made it much easier to leave the UK. And as real wages have stagnated while the cost of living and homeownership has soared, combined with the highest tax burden since the Second World War, this is an increasingly attractive option for many young people.
Nearly three quarters (72pc) of 18- to 30-year-olds would consider living and working in another country in the short or long term, according to the British Council's Next Generation UK 2024 report.
Bamford adds: 'If you can work remotely and have a better quality of life, why wouldn't you? When people say they want to live by the beach or somewhere hot, I just think, why not do it?'
Tristan Van Den Berg, 25, says that there is a growing awareness among his peers of the better quality of life available in other countries at a much lower price. 'If you earn £1,500 a month, you can go and live in Thailand in a two-bed flat with a pool – it's incredible.'
This lies in stark contrast to what you see in the UK, adds Knight. She says: 'Seeing house prices in other countries compared to what you get in the UK is crazy.
'A friend of mine paid £650,000 for a two-bedroom flat in Wimbledon. In Spain, I saw a two-bedroom flat with a pool, private beach access and a mountain view for £150,000 near Malaga.
'You don't get anything for your money in the UK, even outside of London – especially with the stamp duty increase and interest rates where they are.'
A lack of faith in the future of Britain's economy is another reason young people might feel put off laying down roots in the form of bricks and mortar, adds Knight.
'We are an island. We no longer have EU support, the economy is sinking, it's worrying. The cost of living is ridiculous. I came back from three years of travelling in October, and I was shocked by how much prices of everything had gone up in such a short period of time.'
The cost of homeownership
It's not just the price of getting on the ladder which is putting off would-be buyers, but the costs associated with owning and maintaining a home.
Owner occupiers' housing costs (OOH) rose quickly between 2021 and 2024, and continue to rise faster than inflation. Renters are increasingly aware of what they would be taking on if they bought property, explains Bamford.
'With the cost of living, and everything being more expensive, I hear stories about friends who have bought and there are so many more things you're responsible for. If my boiler breaks, my landlord comes and sorts it out.'
Sherwood adds: 'In Twickenham, there are lots of flooding issues; even if I could afford a house there, there are loads of costs that could come up and be a massive burden because of that. Then I'd be tied to the property because I'd have that mortgage.'
While Sherwood acknowledges that she is foregoing a degree of financial stability that comes with a mortgage, she prefers alternative approaches when it comes to investing for the future.
'So much could change [in the coming decades] from regulations, to [property] market fluctuations, to personal circumstances. I would rather invest in stocks and liquid assets for a sense of financial security.'