Millennial homelessness: 630,000 young people won’t be able to afford private rents when they retire The committee is calling on the government to build more social housing to accommodate those in need

Hundreds of thousands of millennials will face homelessness because they won’t be able to afford private rents when they retire.

Millennials, considered to be the first generation more cash-strapped than their parents, will endure further struggles at pensionable age as their income will fail to cover their rental costs.

Number of households rented by pensioners will treble

Dubbed “generation rent,” millennials are reliant on the rental market for accommodation.

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As soaring house prices and stagnating incomes lock them out of the housing market, more and more people are staying in longer tenancies.

However, the problem will deepen as the demographic ages. By 2038, 52 per cent of pensioners in the private rental sector will be paying more than 40 per cent of their income on rent, an all-party parliamentary group on housing and care for older people have found.

As pensioners’ income is slashed by half on average, according to The Guardian, leaving older people more financially vulnerable.

Approximately 630,000 people will be unable to afford their rent will be rendered homeless or will have to resort on temporary accommodation for survival, the group stated in their report, Rental Housing For An Ageing Population.

“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.

The committee is calling on the government to build more social housing to accommodate those in need.

“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,” Mr Best added.

Rise of bad housing stock

The group has also warned that substandard housing is on the rise, leaving the next generation’s elderly vulnerable.

Bad housing stock figures will rise from 56,000 to 188,000 in 20 years’ time and to 236,500 in 30 years’ time, which could lead to the deaths of vulnerable elderly people, The Guardian reported.

But Housing Minister Heather Wheeler said the Government is committed to providing care for the UK’s elderly, and is introducing laws to bolster rental rights.

She said: “We have given councils more than £2.7bn since 2012-13 so that people, including older and disabled people, can live independently and safely at home.

“The recent introduction of the Homes Act means a fairer deal for both tenants and landlords as we strengthen all tenants’ rights.”

Private renting unaffordable in 67 per cent of the country

Sky-high rental prices are also affecting adults in the UK today.

Private renting is unaffordable for working families in 67 per cent of the country, according to a new report released in July by Shelter.

The research, based on a family renting a two-bedroom house with one adult working full-time and another working part-time, said in 112 areas, poorer families are shelling out more than 40 per cent of their income on rent.

For families with only one full-time worker, in 320 areas – 98 per cent of the country – those living off one income would be forced to spend more than 30 per cent of their pay on rent.