Just to add a data point - many people rent because they wish to, don't have kids, and like to move around every now and again.
It is tiring to see it perpetually associated with poverty or a lack of choice.
The UK is especially odd regarding home ownership. Much of Europe do well with it, it ought to be a personal choice and not a desperation, where people will buy anything, however rancid or ubiquitous, just to 'get on the ladder'..
As an artist, I have been lucky enough to live in some very beautiful parts of the country, for many years, which I could not have done if I'd had a mortgage.
Add to that, the perpetual finger wagging of "you will regret this when you are a pensioner!" creates a constant climate of fear. It does nothing to ease the endless cycles of stress in society. I do have several older (70+) friends who are renting and have quite enviable lives.
Perhaps the traditional, nuclear family model, combined with a lack of decent quality housing country-wide needs addressing?
Sadly, Britain's current obsession with home ownership unbalances both the availability and quality of private renting, making it quite difficult and unaffordable for many, especially those with children.
As a country we really could do better than this, we should have housing to suit everyone.
My parents also owned inordinately expensive property, although downsized drastically many years before they passed. They had absolutely no obligation to reduce their quality of life to suit myself or my sibling.
It is a sign of a rotten society when we have to plan ahead to our parent's death to be able to find housing satisfaction. Change is important, not keeping this toxic mindset alive.