Over-55s caught in rent trap as millions can’t afford to buy for retirement
RECORD numbers of middle-aged people are tenants and they face rising rents in old age, a survey has found.
A new survey has found that record numbers of middle-aged people are tenants
Thirty-seven per cent – 3.7 million – of Britons aged 55-plus rent their homes with little prospect of buying as they head to retirement.
Despite having on average £47,000 in savings, lenders are loathe to offer this group of people mortgages.
Just six per cent of those who took part in the survey plan to buy a house within five years, with 21 per cent saying the inability to access finance is a bar, the survey of 2,000 over-55s for loans firm Kuflink found.
Chief Tarlochan Garcha said: “It’s particularly concerning to note that one in three Britons aged 55 and over is stuck in rental accommodation, unable to purchase a home they can retire in.”
Lettings agent Countrywide says pensioners account for eight per cent of private tenants, compared with 5.2 per cent in 2007 – an increase of more than 53 per cent.