The Private Rented Sector doubles in size since 2002

The office of national statistics have released the first set of data from the 2015-2016 for the English Housing Survey.  This survey is a national survey of people's housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England.

It makes interesting reading about the nations approach to housing and gives us an idea of how the private rented sector is performing. 

The report found that in 2015-16, the private rented sector accounted for 4.5 million or 20% of households.   Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the proportion of private rented households was steady at around 10% but since 2002 the sector has more than doubled in size.

This report also looked at who was renting property – they identified that over the last 10 years the proportion of young people renting property in the private rented sector has increased dramatically.

In 2005-2006, 24% of those aged 25 – 34 lived in the private rented sector but by 2015 -2016 this increased to 46%.

Over the same period, the proportion of 25-34 year olds buying with a mortgage decreased from 53% to 35%.   Households aged 25-34 are more likely to be renting privately than buying their own home, a continuation of a trend first identified in 2012-13.

Interestingly in the private rented sector, the proportion of households with children increased from 30% to 36%.   Given the sizeable growth of the private rented sector over this period, this six percentage point increase equates to about 945,000 more households with dependent children in the private rented sector.

It just goes to show that we need a healthy private rental sector to cater for the needs of families as well as young people.    

Bingham is a great small town - ideally located for commuters to Nottingham, Newark and Leicester. With its great Primary schools and secondary School it will continue to attract families and I hope that we continue to see investors coming into the private rented sector.

If you are thinking of purchasing a property to let follow my blog for possible investment properties from across the market.