Maw Comms news
5 Sep, 17 Nearly a third of renters say they can’t imagine ever owning their own home
A new study has revealed that 31% of tenants in rented accommodation cannot imagine ever owning their own home.
The research*, commissioned by GoCompare Mortgages, also revealed that more than a fifth (21%) of renters think that the removal of mortgage interest tax relief on buy-to-let properties, which came into force in April 2017, will reduce the supply of rented properties in their area.
Some of the tenants surveyed were also concerned that they will face rent hikes as buy-to-let landlords pass on the higher costs. 6% said that their landlord had already or will increase the rent as a direct result of the tax changes.
Affordability and access to mortgage loans were key reasons why many Brits rent. Half of the tenants surveyed live in rented accommodation because they can’t afford to buy their own home, 11% were renting because they were currently unable to obtain a mortgage. Just 14% of those renting were doing so out of preference.
The survey also looked at the profiles of people in rented accommodation, it found that more women (57%) than men (43%) were tenants; 39% were single households, 28% were families with children and 23% were couples. One in ten of people surveyed share their home with flat or housemates.
Commenting on the research, Matt Sanders from GoCompare Mortgages said, “Our research reveals that half of all tenants are in rental accommodation because they can’t afford to buy their own home. It now looks like many have given up all hope of ever owning a home and, for some, the changes to buy-to-let regulations are likely to make renting more expensive. In turn, that makes saving for a mortgage even harder.
“April saw profound changes to the taxation of buy-to-let properties which will reduce landlords’ profits and our survey suggests that there is a real concern among tenants that to protect their profits, over time some landlords will increase rents while others may sell-up – reducing the stock of available private rented homes.”
For more information on buy-to-let as an investment visit: http://www.gocompare.com/mortgages/is-buy-to-let-a-good-investment
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For further information please contact:
Anders Nilsson or Martyn John at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725
Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845
Keep up-to-date with the GoCompare press team on Twitter; @GoComparecomms
Notes to editors:
*On 27 March 2017, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 2001 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panelists (726 were in rented accommodation). The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Gocompare.com makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
GoCompare does not sell its customers’ data.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.comFor more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com
