Tenants heading for retirement age are the fastest growing group privately renting in England, according to new figures.

Paragon Bank’s analysis of government data found that the number of private rented households headed by someone aged between 55 and 64 grew by 66% in the last decade to 492,000. Those aged 65+ were the second highest growth group, rising by 33% during the same period to 433,000 households.

Conversely, the number of younger households renting privately fell, with those aged between 16 and 24 falling by 16% to 447,000, and those aged between 25 and 34 falling by 9% to 1.45 million.

The government’s English Housing Survey reveals that 4.7 million households rented privately in England in the year to March 2024, representing 19% of all households in the country.

Proportionally, those with a lead tenant aged 55 or over make up one in five privately rented households in England, compared with 14% in 2014. Those aged 24 or below represent 41% of households, compared to just under half (49%) a decade before.

Compared to falling numbers of households renting privately among younger people, those buying with a mortgage aged between 16 and 24 rose by 62%, while the number of households aged between 25 and 34 buying with a mortgage was up by 29%.

Implications

Louisa Sedgwick (pictured), Paragon’s managing director of mortgages, says the shift in tenant demographics during the past decade has broad implications for the sector and policymakers.

“Older tenants are more likely to live in a rented home for a longer period, so they want security of tenure, the ability to make minor refurbishments and possibly to keep pets,” she adds.

“Given the ageing demographic of the UK, we would expect this trend to continue, so landlords need to be mindful of the needs of more mature tenant groups and adapt their approach to suit their needs.”

Last year we reported how landlords are increasingly likely to be renting to older tenants in the coming decade with the proportion of renters in private rented accommodation over 65 years old doubling to 11.5%.