GENERATION RENT: Millennials in Sheffield 'shell out nearly £110,000 on rent' by age of 35

People born in the mid-1980s to late 90s, dubbed 'generation rent', will have spent enough on rent to have bought a modest home in the city, an estate agent has calculated.

But, despite the huge expenditure, he questioned the perceived wisdom that it was harder than ever for young people to save for a deposit on a home of their own.

"It’s no wonder local millennials can't afford to buy a Sheffield home given their tremendous debt. This means younger Sheffield millennials will probably carry on renting for the foreseeable future, simply because the prospect of buying a home is not yet achievable… that is until you look more deeply at the numbers," he wrote on his property blog.

"Looking over the last 12 years, adding up all the differences between what the average actual rent was compared to what it should have been if rent had gone up by inflation, the average Sheffield millennial tenant would have paid £119,539.

"This means that an average 35-year-old Sheffielder, who has been renting since 2005, is better off by £10,771 when comparing the actual rent paid compared to what it would have been if it had risen by inflation. In a nutshell, tenants have done well due to the sub-inflation growth in rents."