Home ownership remains an important aspiration among the general public in the UK but is it a realistic one? Anecdotally, the answer to this probably varies depending on who you ask and their own personal experience. However, studies still show that the vast majority of people want to own their home and a major focus of the current housing crisis should not just be about total supply to meet demand but how the policy environment needs to change to support the aspiration of ownership.
The latest research from the Council of Mortgages Lenders’ long-running series on attitudes to housing tenure supports this as it confirms that home-ownership remains important to people and 72% of adults want to be home-owners in two years’ time with this rising to 80% within a decade.
The research also found that the majority of people – regardless of their own circumstances – feel it is harder than ever for young people to buy their own home. So while clearly the desire is there to buy a property, it is apparent there is still not enough being done in terms of creating achievable options.
Rentplus recently held a breakfast briefing with MPs and policy researchers to discuss our rent-to-buy model and how more options are required which allow people to more easily to bridge the gap between home-ownership aspiration and reality. It was fascinating to hear from the attendees how the different drivers of the housing supply chain – be it local authorities, developers or housing associations – had varying challenges in their regions in terms of delivering affordable homes.
While we don’t consider Rentplus to be a panacea to the housing crisis, we can make a positive and constructive contribution to the housing delivery supply chain as well as providing opportunities for people trapped in unsuitable housing to access secure affordable housing with the opportunity to buy their home in the future with a 10% gifted deposit from Rentplus.
We are a complementary housing tenure which provides an alternative route to home ownership for people who are otherwise unable to get onto the housing ladder. However, we know that there is no “one size fits all” solution, and instead we need a range of options and tenures to suit the needs and circumstances of the UK population at large. New thinking, new policy not just new homes are needed if we are to address the housing crisis once and for all, and enable people to achieve their dream of owning bricks and mortar. We were delighted with the engagement during and after the meeting with the MPs and hope to continue to demonstrate how our model will bring home ownership that bit closer to reality for many more people.
Richard Connolly
CEO Rentplus