My housemates and I were confronted with a no-fault eviction notice in September, and so I spent last New Year’s Eve hauling my possessions across south London, moving back into my family home on a social housing estate. It was a degrading experience. Moving back home felt like a step backwards in my mid-20s, but I was facing price increases of at least 75% if I went back into the rental market, so I swallowed my pride.
When I’ve lamented being evicted from my flat, one answer I’ve received back a few times is: “Well, now you’re home you can save for a deposit and buy a property, and then you won’t have to worry about that again.”
But I don’t have any desire to buy a house. If there was an option for stable, long-term renting in the UK, I’d take it. I know it sounds mad. To many, not viewing your youth as a slow march towards the housing ladder seems to betray a lack of aspiration. Young prospective homeowners, after all, occupy a political battleground, with both major parties attempting to refine their offers to “first-time buyers”.
But even having faced the rough edges of the rental market, I can’t help but feel that the cult of home ownership is an imposition on young people: when you get down to the real reasons people want to buy homes, how much of it comes down to genuine desire, and how much of it is force of circumstance?
The drive to save hard and buy as soon as possible partly comes down to how unreliable and poor the rental market is. Escalating rents, no protection from no-fault evictions, few rights for tenants and little to no freedom to redecorate or even have pets. All these are reasons why people aspire to own their own homes, as well as the promise of long-term security in your retirement, when you’re eventually living in a mortgage-free house. And, of course, there are many incentives to buy more houses and extract profits from them. The British dream often appears to consist of escaping the threat of landlords by becoming one yourself.
But even so, home ownership remains undesirable to me. I don’t have the bank of mum and dad, so I’d have to spend years being frugal, scraping together pounds and pennies in the hopes of saving enough for a deposit. And the goalposts continually shift as house prices continue to rise. Even if I did come up with the funds, I’d likely have to buy a home far from where I grew up in Battersea. And aside from all that, dealing with the hassle and expense of upkeep and repairs isn’t a particularly thrilling prospect either.
I’d much rather spend my money on fashion, eating out, concert tickets – also known as participating in the economy. I know I’ll be lectured on financial responsibility, but if you work hard you should be able to spend on what makes you happy.
Why have so many of us accepted home ownership as the default for escaping the problems of the rental market? The security of home ownership seems oversold, after all. I was curious to read about the rise of “mortgage prisoners” who face homelessness and financial ruin because they bought houses on variable interest rates that have now shot up. It’s becoming increasingly clear that both renters and middle- and lower-income owners are big losers in the housing game, but it’s still the concerns of homeowners that seem to be the bigger political priority. Tenants unions and renters’ campaigns across the country are fighting hard against unfair evictions, yet they seem to find no voice among either of the major political parties.
Could we not have a rental market in which tenants are provided with clean, safe, affordable, rent-controlled housing that they can count on for their whole lives? I know it’s possible, because that’s what I live in now – my family home on a social housing estate, where we’ve lived since 1998. But social housing is still viewed as a temporary embarrassment, something we should aspire to drive extinct through mass home ownership, rather than a system that needs expansion.
Realising this requires radical action, but not some imaginative leap. In Germany, the rate of home ownership was just 49.5% in 2021, and unlimited rental contracts are common. While it can be difficult to find rental accommodation, renting is the norm – preferred, even – and offers a flexibility and affordability that suits young people who desire greater freedom, and also older people who are happy to downsize in retirement once their families have left the nest. Finland, meanwhile, introduced a Housing First policy in 2008 in a bid to end homelessness, providing homes to all those who need one, because Helsinki maintained a mass supply of social housing. The UK’s social housing stock was decimated by Margaret Thatcher’s right to buy initiative, creating new entrenched class interests in home ownership. But our social housing infrastructure could be rebuilt – if only there were the political will.
I know the housing situation in the UK won’t change overnight. If my career goes well, I’ll almost certainly buy a house. But I see people my age brandishing keys with beaming faces when they announce their purchases on social media, and wonder how they can feel so enthusiastic. In some ways it feels like a trap. I think about what my announcement post would say when I finally admit defeat and get a mortgage: “They got me, y’all.”
