A wave of soon-to-be retirees are ‘staring down the barrel’ of homelessness – here’s why | Money News

A wave of renters is approaching retirement and “staring down the barrel of homelessness” when their pay cheques cease.

The number of households aged 55-64 who are privately renting in the UK has risen by 82% since 2008, Money team analysis shows.

They face paying £461,460 more on average than an outright homeowner over the course of a 20-year retirement should they continue to rent.

If they downsized to a one-bedroom home, they would still be shelling out £374,690.

“It’s a massive problem,” says Henry Allingham, research manager at the advocacy group Centre for Ageing Better.

“Cycles of hardship. Debt. Possibly, at the extreme end, homelessness. And undoubtedly even higher demand on an already stretched social housing system: That’s the future if this isn’t tackled.”

Retiree Wendy Butler, 70, from Cockermouth, is battling her landlord to stop him swallowing half of her fixed income.

The landlord wants to raise her rent from £625 to £950 a month, a 52% increase that almost eclipses the entire state pension, worth £1,065.

“I don’t have the opportunity to go out and do overtime or get a second job. I’m 70, I’ve worked all my life. I’ve brought up two children, I’ve got four grandchildren. I want time to myself to enjoy life.”

Retirement in Britain has, until now, been built on the notion of homeownership. The foundations of that model are crumbling.

Real average house prices rose 137% between 1988 and 2025, but real median weekly wages rose by just 44%, according to the Centre for Ageing Better.

It’s put a house deposit – let alone outright ownership – out of reach for an increasing number of people, and the Pensions Policy Institute found minimum pension contribution rates are insufficient to absorb the extra cost of renting in retirement.

Renting correlates with an increased poverty rate among those aged 50 or more, analysis by the Centre for Ageing Better shared exclusively with the Money team shows.

“That is the ultimate worry,” says Jenny Lamb, policy officer at the charity Shelter.

“That people who can’t afford to keep pace with sky-high rents in the private rented sector will end up in a situation where they’re staring down the barrel of homelessness.”

Some 40% of renters aged 55+ say their housing costs make them worried about homelessness, according to Shelter.

Among them is Anne Dilley, 62, who spent September and October living in hostels and hotels.

She has moved between four rented properties in the past seven years, she says, having been forced out by evictions, antisocial tenants and dirty and cramped living conditions.

“It’s just an absolute nightmare,” she says, “it’s totally destabilising.

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“You don’t expect to be treated in this manner when you’re older.”

She’s now paying £1,450 a month for a studio flat in Enfield, which she can only afford for now due to inheritance from her late father.

Asked if she was concerned about homelessness when she retired, she replied: “Absolutely.”

‘Housing emergency’

“We’re in the middle of a housing emergency,” says Shelter’s Lamb.

“It’s been fuelled by subsequent government failures to build social homes and the fact that home ownership is so far out of reach for so many.”

Since Margaret Thatcher introduced the Right to Buy scheme, council homes have been sold off to two million tenants.

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Four in 10 of those homes are now rented out privately, according to the Centre for Ageing Better, and there are more than 1.3 million people on waiting lists for social housing.

“It’s a problem for people who are in their 60s and moving into later life now, but it’s a big one coming down the line,” says Allingham.

Our analysis found the number of households in the cohort behind them, aged 45-54, who are privately renting has risen by 98% since 2008.

“It’s something that the government and policymakers really need to grapple with or there’s just going to be more and more people slipping into these cycles of hardship and insecurity.”

Carl Cashman, vice-chair of the Local Government’s Association’s Inclusive Growth Committee, says demand for support from people over 55 has “grown quickly in recent years” and is “only likely to grow” further.

He says it was “vital” that suitable accommodation is built for people to access as they age, including rented options.

A government spokesperson said: “We’re taking action to support renters approaching retirement by fixing the housing crisis and building the homes this country needs for the long term.

“Alongside this, the Renters’ Rights Act will give tenants stronger rights to challenge rent increases above market rate, giving renters more stability in their homes.

“We are also considering recommendations made by the Older People’s Housing Taskforce to improve provision and choice for older people in the housing market.”

The taskforce released a report in 2024 telling Sir Keir Starmer’s government that, among other things, 30,000 to 50,000 new later living homes needed to be built every year to meet demand.