One in three households living in a rental property

One in three homes in the UK is occupied by a tenant, according to new statistics.

Official government figures show that the amount of individuals living in rental properties is continuing to grow to record levels, due mainly to the increasingly high cost of buying a property. This represents a 90 per cent increase over the last 30 years.

According to Mail Online, the number of privately-rented homes has increased by 50 per cent since 2000. It is thought this could continue to grow even further, due to the government ending its stamp duty holiday on properties worth less than £250,000 imminently.

The figures show that an increasing amount of British residents are cashing in on this growth by investing in a buy-to-let mortgage and letting out a second property.

Although ministers have stated their ambitions to make home ownership easier in the future, many have conceded it could take a while for this vision to become a reality; meaning that millions of landlords will be able to continue cashing in on rental yields for some time yet.

According to The Independent, the figures show there are now more than 1.2 million landlords represented by the National Landlords Association and over 3.4 million rental properties in the UK.

Posted 21-02-2012
Author: Joe Elvin