Research conducted by OneFamily suggests that 20 per cent of millennials are likely to be renting when they hit 65 years of age.

Currently, 6 per cent of the over-65s rent their property.

As well as this, the lender says that a lifetime of renting costs, on average, an additional £300,000 outside of London and over £1m inside the capital.

This leads to 71 per cent of millennials asked fearing that a house to call their own will forever be out of reach. And 60 per cent of millennials believe that the only way to enjoy financial security is to own a home.

OneFamily has also discovered that half a million home sales that would have otherwise happened will not occur this year due to Covid-19, which alongside rising unemployment, it says “could further play against the housing prospects of this generation.”

Head of direct advice Matthew Ellis says: “The scale of the challenge for millennials to get on the housing ladder remains stark, even as the oldest of this group approach 40. Yet our research shows that their lifetime of renting will cost £300,000 more than home ownership, with no assets to show for all the money they’ve spent.

“Another issue is how they are going to manage to service their renting costs when they reach retirement.

“Some families are already looking at ways to pass on their children’s inheritance early, to help them to get into the housing market as soon as possible.

“Our research suggests that millennials are clearly concerned about their future finances.  It shows that this generation is not as carefree as they are sometimes suggested to be. Maybe now is the time for their parents and grandparents to step in and give them a little nudge up the housing ladder.”