Almost two thirds of rental tenants cannot afford a deposit to allow them to purchase their own home according to a survey conducted before the Coronavirus outbreak. 

Some 64 per cent of tenants polled by yieldit said they could not afford a deposit to buy a property and only a third were currently saving for one. 

The survey was small – just 500 tenants – but it showed that a quarter of tenants believed they did not meet the criteria for securing a mortgage.

Ryan Hughes, head of sales at yieldit, says: “It’s concerning to see the number of tenants saying they can’t afford to buy increase yet again. Renting is ideal for lots of people, for example those who are ready for their first taste of independence but don’t want the long-term commitment of a mortgage, but it shouldn’t be a barrier to purchasing a home.

“Of course, at the moment there are unprecedented concerns regarding paying rent which we believe are only lessening the likelihood of renters seeking to move. And with only a third of respondents saying they were currently saving for a deposit — and with financial uncertainty likely to make people dip further into those savings — it looks like the numbers of renters in the market won’t be changing any time soon.”

The survey was carried out by OnePoll. yieldit specialises in the sale of income generating buy-to-let property between investors.