Tenants could end up paying £1m more over their lifetime by renting rather than buying, research claims. Analysis by developer Strata compared the cost of owning a home in the UK to average monthly rental payments over a 60-year period. The research – based on renting from age 21 to 30 before buying and owning a property until age 81 – took the average first-time buyer property value of £212,079, assumed a 16% deposit and £4,800 of fees including lender valuations, surveys and mortgage and legal costs. It then estimates that buyers would have rented for nine years prior to getting on the property ladder, at an average of £909 a month, adjusted for inflation over the period. This gives a total spend of 427,363. In contrast, lifetime renters will spend £909 a month on average, which when adjusted for inflation would reach a total of £1,624,980 over a 60-year period. That equates to a difference of £1,197,616 with lifetime renters spending 280% more than buyers. Figures across the UK vary dramatically, with differences in London reaching almost £2m in London. The north-east had the smallest disparity at £720,000.
Lifetime renting costs nearly £1.2m ($1.6m) more than buying a property after nine years of renting, according to developer Strata. The analysis estimated that average buyers would rent for nine years between age 81 and 30 before owning a property at £909 per month until the ages 21, giving a total spend of £427,363. However, a lifetime renter's cost of £909 a month would give a total spend of £1,624,980 over a 60-year period. The difference between the two calculations in London reaches nearly £2m.