Renters trapped by costs of home buying

Just over one in seven people surveyed said they were having to spend more than two thirds of their take-home pay just on their rents, website SpareRoom.co.uk found.

A fifth of those questioned cannot see timed when they will be able to get on the property ladder, while a further 17 per cent believe they will have to wait longer than a decade before they are in positions to buy.

About 15 per cent of renters said they regularly dip into savings to make ends meet and this figure increased to 60 per cent for people aged under 30.

Almost half (48 per cent) of renters aged under 30 said they still owe more than £10,000 in university fees.

Rents have soared over the last year as people unable to get on the property ladder – because they cannot raise deposits or meet tightening borrowing criteria – have stayed in the rental sector.

A recent study from LSL Property Services, which owns chains Your Move and Reeds Rains, found that strong competition among tenants has helped the average rent to rise to £712 a month on average.

It found that rents rose at their strongest annual rate in London, where at £1,038 a month they are 4.2 per cent higher than a year ago.

SpareRoom director Matt Hutchinson said: “Soaring living costs mean it’s a struggle for many households just to keep their heads above water each month, let alone have enough spare cash to put aside towards a deposit.

“The survey shows that even those who are squirreling away funds have not managed to save anywhere near enough to buy the property they want.

“What’s clear is that something has to change. House prices need to fall, mortgage lenders need to offer more assistance to first- time buyers with higher loan-to-value mortgages, and the Government has to accept there is a need for more affordable housing to purchase and affordable rental properties available privately or through housing associations.”

The SpareRoom study also found that almost a third of people spent more than half their take-home pay on rent.

Eight out of 10 tenants surveyed said they were professional workers in employment, but four in 10 said the sizeable deposits they would need were stopping them getting on the property ladder, while a fifth said house prices are still too high.

Some 35 per cent of those surveyed were trying to save for deposits to buy houses, but of those, four in 10 had saved less than £5,000.