We’ll take a pass on National Landlords Day, which is November 3rd. Instead, we will be busy celebrating the birthdate of John Mantague, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. In honor of his birthday, November 3rd is also National Sandwich Day, which is perhaps the most important day on the TNSB calendar. For accuracies sake, we want to point out that other sources put Montague’s birthday on November 13th, but we never argue with Big Sandwich.
Landlords, however, are playing a larger role in the lives of older Americans, because the number of older renters is increasing rapidly. According to a report from Point2Homes, based on U.S. Census data, there is an on-going and striking shift in housing among older adults. Between 2013 and 2023, the number of renters ages 65+ grew by 2.4 million - a nearly 30% increase – at a time when all other age groups are shedding renters. Today, more than 10.4 million older adults rent their homes, making up 13.4% of the renter population.
The shift reflects some of the challenges that older adults on fixed income are facing with home ownership. The total cost of home ownership – reflected in rising home prices, higher mortgage rates, skyrocketing insurance costs and increased maintenance costs – is increasingly unattractive or unaffordable to older adults. In some locations, the number of older renters has almost doubled over this period; seniors relocated to places like Austin, Baton Rouge, and Jacksonville, and have rented instead of purchased homes, as they might have done in the past.