Half of parents have inheritance worries

Around half of British parents think that their children will never own a home if they are not left an inheritance, a new survey suggests.

Forty-nine per cent of parents surveyed by housing charity Shelter worried about their children’s ability to get onto the housing ladder. Many of the respondents cited high house prices and a lack of affordable housing.

The charity believes their concerns were well founded, as homeownership has “collapsed among young adults in the last decade”. According to the latest government data, the proportion of homeowners between 25 and 34 years old was only 36 per cent last year. This is a significant drop from the 2003 level of 59 per cent.

Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said it was “a tragic consequence of our housing shortage” that so many people would have to rely on inheritance to buy their first home.

“The failure of successive governments to build anywhere near enough affordable homes is leaving millions of young adults facing a lifetime of uncertainty”, he said.

Mr Robb called on politicians to make “a real and lasting commitment to building the affordable homes we desperately need”. Ahead of next month’s general election, the charity has started a petition to raise awareness of the affordable housing issue.

Earlier this month, a similar survey found that a majority of British parents think leaving an inheritance is more important than a comfortable retirement.