With the cost of living crisis as well as energy price increases and inflation, it may come as some surprise that there are quite a few reasons why it may be a good year, or even few years, to be renting rather than owning a home, but trust us, there are reasons to be cheerful!
We’ve gone to great lengths in past articles to point out the benefits of renting, and they are numerous, but we’re more concerned with the immediate benefits in comparison to owning.
It’s been a crazy few years even without the economic issues that have been raised and, with the pandemic now feeling as though it’s at its endgame, it’s easy to forget the chaos that was unleashed from the majority of the economy being forced to close. There are some consequences being felt from that now, and that means there are a few reasons to be thankful you’re renting this year.
Interest rates increasing
By and large, when inflation runs at a high level there are few options that governments or central banks can employ to bring it back under control, but one of those tools is to raise the base interest rate at which banks borrow money from the central bank, and that instructs the interest rates that banks charge their customers.
Consequently, it’s highly unlikely that the Bank of England will make it through the rest of the year, or even until the summer, without having to raise interest rates again.
There’s a lot of different reasons for inflation, but regardless of these reason it means that interest rates will almost certainly need to go up, resulting in an increase in mortgage payments in line with the increased rates. If inflation is running at over 7% then interest rates are going to need to go up fairly sharply to tackle that.
Maintenance costs of owning a house
With everything else going on this year it’s likely that you’re going to be feeling the squeeze in your income. If that’s the case then the last thing you’ll need is an unexpected bill for something like a broken boiler, a leaking pipes or a hole in the roof.
One of the biggest benefits of renting is that you’re not responsible for the day to day maintenance of the property, that’s even more important when you consider how squeezed most people’s incomes are this year.
As long as you have good contents insurance, you’re in a good position to avoid unnecessary payouts.
Energy efficiency
If you’re renting then in many ways it’s in your landlord’s interest to ensure that the property is energy efficient and well insulated.
There is also legislation coming shortly that will mean that landlords are legally obliged to ensure that this is the case, so with all this in mind it’s likely to mean that your bills will be lower when heating your home.
It’s also likely to mean that you won’t use as much energy with many of your appliances.
If you’re looking for your next rental home, why not take a look at our available properties across the UK here.
