Affluent Londoners should consider renting an aspiration - property investment

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Government minister tells committee that renting a home should be as high an aspiration as property investment

By Ashley Brunskill

Londoners should consider renting as much as personal property investment, according to a government minister.

Jonathan Shaw, the minister for the south-east, told a Commons committee for the region that renting should be considered an aspiration for affluent people and not stigmatised as a route for low income living.

He added: "Renting is perfectly desirable and meets needs and aspirations. It should be seen more as something that people across the socioeconomic spectrum do."

His comments have drawn criticism from the Conservatives who accused Mr Shaw of "downgrading aspiration".

However, some experts agree that renting is a reasonable alternative to residential property investment with house prices still reasonably high and the number of first-time buyers decreasing.

According to This Is London, around one in five people rent private accommodation in the capital. In Europe this number is far greater with four out of five people living in Berlin renting rather than buying their home.

Rental valuations in London and the south-east have risen in recent months, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, although rents decreased in much of the rest of the UK.

Source: ask-re The Property People LLP