Post by account_disabled on Mar 6, 2024 6:06:50 GMT -5
Squeezed by the cost of living crisis, with new official data showing they are five times more likely to be in financial trouble than homeowners. Renters were 4.7 times more likely to face financial vulnerability than those who own their home, according to an Office for National Statistics study published on Friday. The ONS criteria for measuring financial vulnerability include not being able to afford an unexpected but necessary expense of £850, borrowing more than usual, struggling to pay energy bills and failing to save. David Ainslie, ONS senior analyst, said: "Today's analysis adds to our work to identify inequalities in society and how certain groups have been more affected by the rising cost of living than others." The findings come as UK rental prices rose at an annual rate of 5 per cent in May, the fastest since the series began.
According to the analysis, which used data from February 8 to May 1, up to four in 10 tenants reported difficulty meeting their rent payments. This compares with three in 10 mortgage holders who said they were Job Function Email Database struggling to make their payments. Renters were also more likely than mortgage holders to have cut back on spending on groceries and essentials, go without food, be behind on energy payments or have a direct debit they cannot pay, the study showed. The pain of the cost of living crisis was “fueling the housing market with sky-high mortgage rates and causing fallout in the private rental sector,” said Paul McGuckin, an analyst at independent consultancy Broadstone.
Renters' increased exposure to some form of financial vulnerability may reflect that, on average, renters spend 21 per cent of their disposable income on rent, according to the ONS. This is higher than the 16 per cent that mortgage holders spend on their mortgages. Recommended Image of a detached house with red bar graph lines in front In the two weeks to June 9, renters were more likely to find their payments had increased than mortgage holders, by 42% and 32% respectively, separate ONS data included in the statement showed on Friday. While interest rates have been rising since the end of 2021, many fixed-rate mortgage borrowers have so far been protected from these increases as their contracts have not yet expired.
According to the analysis, which used data from February 8 to May 1, up to four in 10 tenants reported difficulty meeting their rent payments. This compares with three in 10 mortgage holders who said they were Job Function Email Database struggling to make their payments. Renters were also more likely than mortgage holders to have cut back on spending on groceries and essentials, go without food, be behind on energy payments or have a direct debit they cannot pay, the study showed. The pain of the cost of living crisis was “fueling the housing market with sky-high mortgage rates and causing fallout in the private rental sector,” said Paul McGuckin, an analyst at independent consultancy Broadstone.
Renters' increased exposure to some form of financial vulnerability may reflect that, on average, renters spend 21 per cent of their disposable income on rent, according to the ONS. This is higher than the 16 per cent that mortgage holders spend on their mortgages. Recommended Image of a detached house with red bar graph lines in front In the two weeks to June 9, renters were more likely to find their payments had increased than mortgage holders, by 42% and 32% respectively, separate ONS data included in the statement showed on Friday. While interest rates have been rising since the end of 2021, many fixed-rate mortgage borrowers have so far been protected from these increases as their contracts have not yet expired.