Future of Cities - Future of UK Housing Supply 2022

A GROWING NUMBER OF RENTERS

People are becoming more footloose. Career exploration is more common, more paid sabbaticals are being offered, and flexible working has facilitated a rise in digital nomads. Key life stages are happening later. The average age of first marriage has increased, and a record number of women entered their 30s without children in 2020. These behavioural changes influence how renters want to live. In the city of 2040, there needs to be greater flexibility in tenure length and a greater range of living products to suit their needs.

The number of private renter households in England has increased from 3.6 million in 2010 to 4.4 million in 2021 (English Housing Survey) and we expect this to increase. Longstanding affordability constraints and behavioural shifts have facilitated continued demand for rental accommodation. The notion that renters move out of the market in their early 30s and buy a home is a diminishing idea thanks to stretched affordability among buyers. There is also a greater diversity of tenants, with more older people and families renting, and these types of tenants are staying longer. However, affordability constraints are not the only reason people rent. Renting allows people flexibility, supporting the behavioural changes we have seen over the last decade.

50%

THIS IS NOW

FEMALE AVERAGE (MEAN) AGE OF FIRST MARRIAGE IN THE UK IN 2011 WAS

36

OF WOMEN WHO WERE BORN IN 1990, DID NOT HAVE CHILDREN WHEN THEY TURNED 30

34

MALE AVERAGE AGE IN 2011 WAS

THIS IS NOW

18% BORN IN 1941

38

36

COMPARED TO

Source: ONS, England & Wales

Source: eurostat

18 The Future of UK Housing Supply |