Britain is home to a generation of renters who are giving up on buying their own home, an in-depth new report has revealed.

If these attitudes become reality, the shape of Britain's housing market will be fundamentally changed within a generation.

According to the report, the most in-depth research into the attitudes and behaviour of young people toward home-ownership since the credit crunch, 77% of all non-homeowners still aspire to owning their own home.
However, despite this aspiration, nearly half of 20-45 year olds say Britain is becoming more like Europe where renting is seen as the norm and predict Britain will become a nation of renters within the next generation.

The perception that banks are not lending, the size of mortgage deposits necessary, and a fear of the application process has prevented "Generation Rent" from making any significant attempts to buy a home. Longer-term, only 5% of this group are making sacrifices to save for a deposit. 95% say they have no spare cash, no interest in saving for a deposit or were trying to save but failing to do so.

The report revealed widespread pessimism about lenders and the mortgage application process:
* 84% say first-time buyers are put off by a belief that banks do not want to lend to them and find excuses to turn them down;

* 92% see it as hard for first-time buyers to get a mortgage, with 60% seeing it as very hard or virtually impossible;

* 67% believe there is a general perception that everyone is rejected by lenders so there is little point in applying;

* 61% say that first-time buyers do not want to go through the stress and anxiety of applying for a mortgage.