I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want

It’s great when you see a new proposition coming to market that taps into an unmet need. ‘Unmortgage’ is for people who can afford to rent but want to own. It’s filling the ever-widening gap between renting and owning.

In our work with Taylor Wimpey we explored a hypothesis that the UK was turning into a renting society - that people were starting to prefer to rent because they enjoyed the flexibility that it gives. However, we saw no evidence of this - in fact most renters felt trapped. Feeling that high rents, hidden charges and unscrupulous landlords made it impossible for them to save in order to get on the housing ladder.

What’s interesting is that renters, especially those with families, hate the lack of stability and control that comes with renting in the UK. They feel that the UK rental market is unprofessional and that they are not respected as customers.

‘I want a home of my own, somewhere I can put my mark, somewhere no one can move me from’

So well done to Unmortgage - we think this is a great innovation.

We predict that we’ll soon see more services that give people security by professionalising the landlord-customer experience. Let’s watch this (rental) space.