Number of people renting rises above the 3m mark

Around 3.1 million people in England rented a property privately during 2008/09, up from 2.1 million in 2001, according to the English Housing Survey.

The increase, which is likely to have been driven by house price rises pushing homeownership out of many people's reach, was accompanied by a fall in the number of people living in their own home.

The research showed that 14.6 million people were owner-occupiers during 2008/09, down from a peak of 14.8 million in 2005/06.

But despite the fall, owner-occupation was still the most common form of housing tenure, accounting for 67.9 per cent of all households, although this was down from a high of 70.9 per cent in 2003.

Renting a home from a social landlord was the second most popular option, accounting for 17.8 per cent of households, while 14.2 per cent rented a home from a private landlord, up from only 10 per cent in 2001.

The majority of people in the private rental sector aspire to buying their own home, with 59 per cent saying they hoped to buy their own place eventually, compared with only around a quarter of those in social housing.

Couples with no dependent children were most likely to own their own home at 42 per cent, while single people were most likely to rent a property.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: "The latest survey provides further evidence that the proportion of households choosing to be owner-occupiers is continuing to decline.

"Unless housing supply increases substantially over the next few years, the likelihood is that many of those aspiring to buy a home will continue to find such a move out of their reach."