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Call for a culture change

25th April 2008 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

It may seem ironic to think that, at a time when Mr Sarkozy in France is trying to turn his fellow countrymen from a nation happy to rent into one which owns property on a similar level to Britain that anyone might be seeking to change UK attitudes in the opposite direction. Needless to say, those involved in the buy-to-let industry would have plenty to gain from such a sea change.

Yet that is just what the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has called for, suggesting that the attitude of Britons on the subject need to be altered, not to avoid stigmatising those unable to get on the housing ladder in times of affordability, but because people's needs may be better served at various points in their lives by renting rather than buying.

Director of policy and practice at the CIH, Richard Capie, agreed with the notion that as some struggle with affordability, thinking must change. He stated: "There has been a government target to increase home ownership, but we need to move away from the mindset that it is right to buy and wrong to rent, as different forms of tenure will suit different people at different stages of their lives."

This view is shared by his colleague, head of policy Abigail Davies. She said the negative image of renting is a thing the CIH has been "trying to work against for a few years".

She added: "It is our belief that different tenures are suitable to different people at different times of their lives. It’s not only about how people get onto the housing ladder, it’s about how your life changes." An example she gave was that of older people, who, she suggested, might be better off in some cases, suggesting that "it may actually be better for them to move into a rental property that is maintained then try and keep on a house".

Such a thought may seem radical, not to mention a little counter-cultural, given the deep sociological association with homeownership as a badge of middle-class identity, something which was epitomised by the rise of the so-called new working class in the 1980s who bought their council homes.

But that is not the same as saying it is counter-logical. The recent survey by housing charity shelter revealed a 200 per cent increase in the cost of homes in the last decade, with a 78 per cent decline in affordability. As Shelter's chief executive Adam Sampson noted: "Every year the gulf between what first-time buyers can afford and the cost of housing is widening."

In such circumstances, sympathy with the plight of frustrated first-time buyers is not enough. A change in attitudes, which helps to stimulate an expansion of choice in the lettings sector, may do far more good.

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