33% of Cheltenham people Rent - Is that Healthy?

Renting used to be a dirty word in the 60’s and 70’s. You either lived in a ‘Rigsby Rising Damp’ style bedsit with wood chip on the wall and a coin operated electric meter (that buzzed in the night) or you lived in a council house. In the latter part of the 20th Century, the British were persuaded that rent payments were ‘wasted money’. However, owning often makes less financial sense than renting and as the rate of home ownership is starting to drop substantially, as we roll the clock forward to today, there is no stigma at all to renting .. everyone is doing it. In fact, of the 112,874 residents of Cheltenham, 37,702 of you rent your house from either the local authority/social provider (ie council house or housing association) or private landlords – meaning 33.4% of Cheltenham people are tenants.

The idea of home ownership is deeply embedded in the British soul, in fact 73,402 Cheltenham people live in an owner occupied property (or 65.03%). Housing is at the heart of Government policy, as George Osborne has promised 200,000 new properties a year so first time buyers can buy their first home whilst recently changing the tax laws for buy to let landlords. To get votes, Margaret Thatcher (and everyone since) ran election campaigns promising everybody their own home, and as a country, we seem to equate home ownership to the ideal British life.

So as more and more people are renting nowadays, are we turning to a more European way of living? Well, I believe, as a country, we are. In fact, home ownership could be affecting your health! The UK, according to Bloomberg, is only the 21st most healthy country in the world. Germany is at No.10 and Switzerland at No.4 and home ownership is at 52.5% and 44% respectively in those countries (in the UK it is 64.8%).

I am not suggesting that low home ownership rates in Switzerland and Germany are directly linked to health, nor, do I expect Brits to all go to Berlin, Zurich or Düsseldorf and realise how happy people are when they don't need to worry about all the stresses which accompany home ownership. 

Renting is here to stay in Cheltenham and it’s growing incrementally each year. Even with the new tax rules for landlords, buy to let is still a viable investment option for most people in the town. There has never been a better time to buy buy to let property in Cheltenham, but buy wisely. Gone are the days that you would make profit on anything with four walls and a roof. Take advice, take opinion, do your homework.