The research said 13% of people in the UK (7.98 million) currently live in privately rented accommodation, a bigger proportion than the combined numbers who live in local authority properties or rent from a housing association (12%).
Of those in the first-time buyer age group of 35 to 44 year olds, 74% said they are unlikely to buy a home in the next five years. Market research company GfK said earlier this year that the average age of a first-time buyer getting a mortgage without parental assistance is 37.
90% of people surveyed by Kensington said they are concerned it is becoming increasingly difficult for first-time buyers in the UK, and 68% say demand for private rental property will increase in the next five years.
Keith Street, head of Kensington, said: “With a growing population and difficult outlook for first-time buyers the strain on the private rental sector will only increase.
“It is therefore vital that there is the housing stock available to meet this demand and we – that is both lenders and the government – need to encourage landlords to build and maintain portfolios for the long term so that tenants continue to have a choice of good quality, affordable rental accommodation to meet their housing requirements.”
Kensington commissioned the research to include in a report it plans to send to the government ahead of the emergency budget on the 22nd June. The report is to highlight the importance of the private rented sector to UK housing and the dangers to this sector of raising Capital Gains Tax.
The report says: “If CGT changes are too onerous and discourage property investment or property retention they will not only impact on landlords, but also the millions of people who rely on private rental properties to house them and their families who will find higher rental prices the likely consequences of a reduction of private rental accommodation.”
Kensington is calling on the government to consider how new proposals for CGT may impact on buy-to-let landlords, and subsequently the availability of affordable private rental accommodation.
