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There has been a 50% rise in the number of Britons in the rental sector who never expect to own their own home.

Some 18% of tenants believe they will never get on the property ladder, up from 12% three years ago.

And 49% say they won't be able to buy for at least five to 10 years.

Older tenants have a particularly bleak outlook, with 49% of those renting in their 40s saying they can never afford to buy, according to a survey of 10,000 tenants by house share site SpareRoom.co.uk.

And almost one in four tenants of all ages say it will be at least a decade before they can afford to buy.

Half of renters spend between 30% and 50% of their salary on rent, while 23% spend more than half their salary. Almost 30% of tenants now consider their rent unaffordable'

Renters in London and the East Midlands are the most optimistic. In both regions, just 17% believe home ownership is so out of reach that they'll never be able to buy property.

However, 25% of Londoners believe it will be at least 10 years before they can buy, due to soaring house prices and high rents eroding deposits.

In London, where average rents have now hit £691 per month, 39% of the average London flatsharer's monthly take-home pay goes on rent.

Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.co.uk, said: "For nearly one in five of Britain's ever-growing population of renters, aspirations of home ownership are slipping away.

"Price rises seem to be unstoppable, with a typical London home now clearing the £500,000 mark, and prices for first-time buyers rising faster than prices for owner-occupiers.

"Coupled with rising rents eroding savings, it's hardly surprising that such a significant proportion of renters have resigned themselves to never owning their homes.

"The reality is that many young professionals will never own their homes. Attitudes to renting for life will have to change as, like it or not, we are heading towards a European approach towards property, where so called lifestyle tenants' are the norm.

"Given the British love affair with property ownership, this is going to be a major cultural change."

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