One in three renters are saving £100 a month or less towards a home deposit, leaving them on a 35-year path to buy, according to new research from Skipton Building Society.
The mutual said the average first-time buyer deposit now stands at £41,403 against an average purchase price of £243,883. Its survey found 73 percent of renters feel locked out of the property ladder, while 45 percent said high rents are the main reason saving is so hard.
For landlords, the fresh figures matter because they point to a tenant base that is not just delaying purchase plans for a year or two. In many cases, the route into ownership is moving so far away that rental demand is likely to stay sticky even as mortgage choice improves.
High rents are stretching the deposit timeline
Skipton said 32 percent of renters now spend 40 percent or more of their salary on rent each month. That leaves little room to build a serious deposit, especially while house prices keep moving and living costs stay elevated.
The survey also found 68 percent feel they have put life plans on hold while trying to save, and 94 percent said they have already made sacrifices, from skipping holidays to cutting back on socialising. That matters because it suggests the pressure is no longer confined to would-be buyers at the margin. It is shaping behaviour across a wider part of the rental market.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s recent coverage of mounting homebuying delays, which found transaction friction is still slowing people who are trying to move. The latest figures suggest many renters are not even getting that far – the deposit hurdle is keeping them in the sector before they can start a purchase.
Why landlords should not treat this as simple demand good news
There is an obvious landlord upside in the short term. If fewer tenants can raise a deposit, fewer leave the rental market, which helps occupancy and can reduce void risk. But there is a harder edge to the data too.
When tenants are spending 40 percent or more of pay on rent, affordability pressure does not disappear just because they stay put. It can show up in slower rent growth, tougher renewal conversations, and more scrutiny of value, condition and service.
That is the more useful reading of the Skipton figures. They do not simply show strong demand. They show constrained demand, where tenants remain in rented homes because the alternatives are still out of reach.
Skipton has linked the findings to its Track Record mortgage update, which says around 2,500 people have bought through the product since launch. That shows lenders are still trying to chip away at the problem. For now, though, the scale of the deposit gap looks much larger than the number of people finding a route around it.
What this means for landlords
- If you are reviewing rents: expect affordability to stay tight even where tenant demand looks strong on paper.
- If you are planning for voids: weaker first-time buyer access should keep more tenants in the rental market for longer.
- Watch for: more low-deposit lending products, which could slowly reopen exit routes for better-paid renters.
- Bottom line: strong rental demand is increasingly being driven by blocked homeownership, not easy tenant finances.
Editor’s view
Landlords should be careful what they celebrate here. A tenant who cannot save a deposit may stay longer, but that does not mean they are financially comfortable or able to absorb endless rent rises.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 25 June 2026
Sources: Skipton Building Society, Connells research Related reading: Barclays says remortgage rush grows as 88% report homebuying delays
