Public sector construction spending will weaken over the next 18 months, but consumers burned by the collapse of the housing market will boost demand for rented homes, according to Garvis Snook, chief executive of Rok, the construction and maintenance group.

Rented accommodation will grow to account for more than a third of households within a decade, compared with 17 per cent in 2005, he said. “The model where the individual borrows large sums to buy a house that they never quite pay off is somewhat suspect but we still need more housing,” he said.