UK renting millennials face being homeless when they retire

More than 600,000 members of ‘Generation Rent’ are facing a crisis of homelessness when they retire. This is according to a government inquiry into what will happen to millennials  in the UK who are not able to get a house as they get older. People’s incomes usually halve after retirement, many in the private rented sector end up paying 80% of their earnings in rent when retired. This means that at least 630,000 millennials are unable to afford their rent. 

“The number of households in the private rented sector headed by someone aged over 64 will more than treble over the next 25 to 30 years,” said Richard Best, the chair of the group. “But unless at least 21,000 suitable homes are built a year, there will be nowhere affordable for them to live. The consequence is bound to be homelessness for some.”

The report found the number of retired people are living in unfit and unsuitable private rented accomodation. Substandard housing is already known to be a big cause of death for many older people; at least 53,000 winter deaths of old people over the past five years have been contributed to conditions related to living in a cold home.