Soaring house prices have eroded the prospect of home ownership, and there has been a steady rise in renters of all ages. One in 20 people, aged over 65, now rent from private landlords. Catherine Foot of Phoenix Insights, a think tank, warned pension support and tenant rights fell short of supporting retired renters. Ms Foot said: "It brings huge risks if the right sort of safeguards are not in place, the biggest being a financial risk. The state pension assumes no long-term housing costs and so if this has to be stretched to pay for private rent then it soon becomes inadequate." "We also don't typically have long tenures in the UK, so those moving into retirement with the risk of being evicted will really struggle to compete with younger tenants if they need to find a new home," added Ms Foot. A third of current renters still expect to be paying rent in retirement, according to recent research by Phoenix Insights. This is equivalent to 11m people. Ms Foot added: "Millions of people will need to put more money aside for housing costs in later life.
The Daily Telegraph
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