Renting may be of benefit when babies come along

On Sunday, even the Observer got in on the act with a screaming headline "Renting to be 'way of life' for young families" with the findings thrown up by the report issued by Shelter and the Resolution Foundation which shows that, in future, property rental won't just be restricted to our callow yoof.  It's OK to rent when you're barely out of college (and you barely wash) goes the argument, but it is tantamount to Armageddon that folk with children should be "forced" to rent rather than buy.  
 
Hmm.  It's the UK "my home is my castle" mindset all over again.  I'm all for people having choices wherever possible of course (always and forever) but I have to say that I don't see what is too terribly dreadful about people renting during their child rearing years, so long as it suits their lifestyle, and suits their financial circumstances. I could see distinct advantages in fact. Particularly if it keeps people from taking on ill-advised mortgages, that they just cannot afford, at the wrong time of their lives. 

And once build-to-let takes off (btw I am now convinced it is a matter of when, not if, partly through the renewed confidence we have in the UKR venture, but also because of the huge opportunity that Delancey will have at the Olympics park) then you could see the market segmenting into building product, on certain developments, designed solely with this demographic in view.   
 
And would that be so bad?  Take it from me, when you are the new mum of a new baby your quality of life immediately plummets, particularly if you are used to being a professional woman, with all that that entails. Hopefully this is more than compensated for by the pheromones of motherhood (just sniff your beautiful baby's head!) but, leaving aside that considerable reward, you don't sleep, you can't go out (or not without a military-style operation), you can completely forget about going into a restaurant for an ordinary meal, the cinema is well-risky, and so forth.  

Even stairs are a bit of a no-no with the pram.  You can barely get through the day, breast feeding takes forever, and even getting the shopping in presents huge logistical problems, unless you're one of those über-competent types (needless to say I wasn't).  And... well, you run the risk of being rather lonely. The potential for loneliness of the new mother is a grim prospect and can endure well into your children becoming toddlers, pre-schoolers and beyond....
 
No, I can see there being distinct advantages in living in developments of decent rental stock with other young families around you; and not just in terms of amenities for the kids, and other mums to connect with, but - and this is crucial - other kids for your kids to play with, in a safe environment. Club Mark Warner runs a fabulous business marketing "upmarket" holidays in what are, essentially, fairly plain resorts. Their entire business shtick is that there is everything there for the kids.  What they are selling to families with children is, purely and simply, other families with children. If your kids are happy running around in a pack with other kids, you can have a holiday.  
 
Why wouldn't an enlightened consumer-focused developer build a rental scheme for families with children? And why wouldn't people who want a life, rather than a mortgage, choose to live in them? There is a very real market there.