At 63, I have seen it and heard it all before. Tenants paying rent way in excess of a mortgage, indeed paying someone else's mortgage, has, continues and until this is changed will continue to be the major factor which impoverishes renters here and in other free market economies. The refrain 30 - 40 years ago was investing in a property to provide your pension income, the idea being that you took your pension pot and purchased a property outright to let and live off that income. This has morphed into scraping together 20- 30 % of the purchase price and tenants paying rents are your oysters, but unlike the oyster, tenants have no protection against the new parasite class of investor/ landlord. Probably it will be the same 30 - 40 years hence.