‘Generation rent’ suffer mental health issues

Being forced to live long-term in private rented housing is impacting negatively on young people’s mental health, a new study has found.

The term ‘generation rent’ refers to the growing number of young people living in the private rented sector for longer periods of their lives, due to high house prices.

The UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) study, by Dr Kim McKee (University of Stirling) and Dr Adriana Mihaela Soaita (University of Glasgow), highlighted issues in the private rented sector which are having a serious negative impact on the wellbeing of young people, and particularly those on the lowest incomes.

These include problems with insecure, expensive and poor-quality housing, which contribute to feelings of stress, anxiety and depression among young people unable to realise their housing aspirations.

For those on the lowest incomes, these issues can even lead to people becoming homeless, The ‘frustrated’ housing aspirations of generation rent report found.

It makes six key housing policy recommendations, including a call for more affordable housing to be built – both for sale and rent. It also says tenants should be educated about their rights, and landlords and letting agents required to undertake training on their legal obligations and duties.

Lead author Dr McKee, CaCHE Co-Investigator and Senior Lecturer in Social Policy & Housing at the University of Stirling, highlights the key findings in this short video: