To worry about where 'Generation Rent' will live when they are retired?

[VestaCurry]

If they never get on the property ladder, what kind of 'retirement' and where do they face? With house prices outstripping wages by a huge margin and 'bank of Mum & Dad' not available to many to help with a deposit, I foresee vast numbers of ageing people living their whole lives in privately rented accommodation. Unless regulations change, they could be given 2 months notice to leave whenever the landlord wishes. At eg age 70 that really is a grim thought.

My dc's are 13 and 11, so considerably younger than Generation Rent, but I cant see how much the situation will have changed by the time they hit their mid-twenties.

I feel a right doom & gloom merchant but I don't think I'm wrong and have seen no evidence of the government or opposition parties trying to understand and/or tackle this issue.

Anyone read "The Lotus Eaters" by W. Somerset Maugham ?

(I read that for English Literature, and can recall the plot 33 years on. You'd never believe I failed )

My parents and DH's parents are early 90s now and have always rented, admittedly they are Council tenants, so they have certain rights proper checks on the property etc and the rent is affordable for them still, but other people are really surprised when I tell them that they didn't buy their own place, or the house from the council, for one reason or another. Its not ideal, but on the other hand they do have the council there to replace new boilers, safety checks and general maintenance if its needed. Its the private renting game that needs looking at -
I didn't believe that people should be able to buy their council places in the 80s either - just my opinion, but many just did it in order to move out to a better area, make a killing then look down on others that couldn't buy! ( this tended to happen in the area where i was born) The councils were not allowed to replace the stock that they sold off and the repercussions are now beginning to be felt. I am not having a dig, but I don't think that the implications of allowing the stock to be sold off at cheaper prices was really thought through, but it did put Mrs Thatcher into power, so an awful lot of people disagree with me of course. My own two boys will probably never be able to afford to buy anything and council places are few and far between where we live now. I worry about their future too.

I'm afraid a lot of you in London and the South East in general are largely sunk before you start.

So many people are moving into London to chase employment, the Government needs to push other cities as viable opportunities for big name companies. This would mean that the London price bubble would, hopefully, start to deflate and those born and bred Londoners doing ordinary jobs could start buying homes near their families again.

I'm from County Durham and the job market here isn't as great as it could be. I'm sure there are many youngsters leaving the North East for London on a quest for jobs, pushing property prices up etc etc but they shouldn't have to leave their local area either.

I don't know how it could be resolved though. Financial incentives for those companies that base their business outside of the South East? I don't imagine for a second that London will ever stop being an overwhelming centre of our country's commerce, but something needs to be done to stop the North turning into a wasteland.

Maybe someone needs to come up with a viable solution for people who are retired but were renters. Some kind of a retirement village that gives security and charges rent they can afford with pensions. You can be sure where there is a need someone will come up with a business model that works. It just won't necessarily be something people would choose to do if they had another alternative. Maybe generation rents children will need to subsidise them?