New research from Yorkshire Building Society reveals renters’ struggle

Renters in the UK are left with just an average of £440 of disposable income each month after paying for bills and essentials—almost half the £872 reported by homeowners. Yet despite tighter budgets, renters are more proactive in managing their money, with 27% checking their credit score monthly compared to just 20% of homeowners. 

The combination of limited disposable income, and a perception that house deposits are unattainably high is preventing many from progressing towards homeownership, even for those who aspire to it. 

Around 35% of households in the UK are rented, with around 4.7million homes in the private rented sector, and an additional 4million in the social rented sector. 

These findings are part of Yorkshire Building Society’s newly launched campaign, “Building Financial Foundations”, which explores the link between home ownership and financial resilience. The campaign tracks the financial behaviours and wellbeing of 10,000 UK adults and reveals a growing “opportunity gap” between renters and homeowners—a gap not in ambition, but in access to financial stability and wealth building.

While two-fifths (38%) of renters say improving their financial situation is a top priority, just two in ten (18%) say they plan to buy a house in the next five years. Significant barriers including lower incomes, limited savings, and higher housing costs than homeowners may impact this. 

Whilst both owner-occupiers and private renters have seen the proportion of their household income spent on mortgage or rent increase since 2019, renters have seen a larger increase (+2%) than homeowners (+0.9%). According to the 2023-24 English Housing Survey, twice the amount of renters find affording their housing costs fairly or very difficult (30.6%) compared to homeowners (14%). 

A third (32%) of renters stated that they have no investments or savings at all and renters that do have savings have 80 percent less than the average homeowner. But despite these challenges, renters are not less ambitious. They are more likely to prioritise emergency savings and financial stability than homeowners, who tend to focus on maintaining lifestyle or making home improvements.

Perceptions of high deposits may also turn renters away from believing that they can achieve homeownership. Yorkshire Building Society research from 2024 suggests that people think they need an average deposit of £67,000 to be able to buy a suitable home. 

Ben Merritt, director of mortgages at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a secure financial future, but for millions of renters across the UK, that future feels increasingly out of reach. Our research shows renters are not lacking in ambition—they’re actively prioritising financial stability, checking their credit scores, and working hard to improve their situation. But they’re doing so in a system that makes it harder for them to succeed.

The opportunity gap isn’t about motivation —it’s about the material barriers renters face every day. We know that for many, renting is an important pathway to homeownership, giving people the opportunity to demonstrate that they can meet financial obligations. And for those who manage to reach it, homeownership can lead to greater financial confidence and security. This is why Yorkshire Building Society is launching the Building Financial Foundations campaign to spotlight these challenges and offer practical solutions. 

For those who want to own their own home, our First Home Saver account helps people build a deposit through regular saving, rewarding them with a competitive interest rate, and our £5k Deposit Mortgage link makes home ownership more accessible for those who may find it hard to save a large deposit.

If we want to build a more equitable, financially resilient society, we must ensure renters have the same opportunities to plan, save, and invest in their futures as homeowners do.”

The Building Financial Futures campaign calls for improved access to financial planning tools, and meaningful policy reform to create easier, fairer pathways to home ownership. 

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