Speaking at the inaugural London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF) mortgage conference on Wednesday, Esther Dijkstra, managing director, intermediaries at LBG, said the group had started to increase access to mortgage finance through its landlord business.
She noted that a number of people were locked out of the market because they either had no savings and a low income, the “resentful renters” who had enough income but not enough savings, and people with sufficient savings but not enough income.
Dijkstra said this meant just four per cent of 24 to 35-year-olds had the right circumstances to get onto the property ladder.
“That is not fair and equal, that is really difficult,” she added.
She said some people worked around this by combining their income with a partner or getting support from family which she said was still not good enough.
The banking group entered the private rental sector in 2021 with the launch of Citra Living, which Dijkstra said was a “pathway to get through shared ownership”.
She added: “We are working with various parties in the market and other lenders, government and a couple of institutions to set up a more mainstream framework for shared ownership. Because currently it’s quite niche and we can grow that so that more people can get on the ladder.
“Watch that space because we do need to make sure more people get on the ladder.”
