How are people privately renting managing?

[BradfordGirl]

I am so lucky not to have to privately rent any more. But I have been shocked at the high private rents around me for very ordinary houses. I do not know how people are managing to pay this. We could not.
So how the hell are you all managing?

I'm one of the lucky ones with a private, accidental landlord who's not put the rent up in 7 years, and it was already under market rates when I moved here. I've had a couple of pay increases this year and am starting a new, higher band role next month so I'm actually doing okay. I know my situation is unusual though.

I should imagine more people than ever will be some help towards rent via UC.

The government propping up the housing market as always.

It's always worth applying for UC/housing & council tax benefit even if it's just £ per week.

It's tough times for sure. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64209861

A UC top up, as PP suggests above. However, despite that, and the fact that our rent hasn't been changed since we moved in 3 years ago, it is still 'above' the maximum amount we can claim. Those rates haven't been changed in about a decade, so even the help isn't going as far as it used to.

We are not low income, DH earns circa £50k, but we have 4 DC, two of whom have additional needs, so we get more top up than others.

It's not a struggle for us currently, but the anxiety of not feeling secure is awful.

@PollyEsther Wow he is a high earner. It is crazy that UC is still needed because of high rents and costs.

Im a single parent with 3dc and I rent. My exdh gives me nothing and never has and I am really struggling now. My LL has just increased my rent by £300 a month. I am now having to claim Universal credit nut my rent is over the maximum as a PP stated above so it barely makes a difference.
I can only claim for 1dc as the other 2 are over 18, albeit in fulltime education, but I receive nothing for them. I feel sick on a daily basis at the amount I am paying and with the increase in everything else, this extra 300 pounds means I can no longer save either. I am literally living day to day...
I cant cope for much longer.

Just to add before anyone asks, yes I work, I work fulltime for the NHS.

Yep, he is. Our rent, council tax and basic bills alone take up over 50% of his take home though .

I thought 10 years ago that people on £50k were loaded. It doesn't feel loaded now we're here!

I’m expecting a 30% to 40% rent hike in the summer when my fixed contract ends. I will have to move to a cheaper area.

Our landlord put our rent up 150 pounds and is looking to put it up another 150 in the near future, we know very well that any fight back from us on this will get us turfed out and someone else moved it as its a desirable area with good schools (technically, but I would love to bloody move!). It's a struggle but luckily DH earns enough to keep us afloat more or less, but I see all of the DC's friends going on foreign holidays, running two cars and I just don't know how anyone is affording that stuff at the moment. I will likely need to go back to work alongside doing my PHD to be able to give the DC's any sort of quality of life as things feel so unrelentingly shit and bleak at the moment.

We're lucky to have a landlord who owns the house outright and, so far, hasn't put the rent up. What we pay is pretty reasonable, too, and we're good tenants for them. But the house is all electric. And we have an electric car. So that's pretty scary and I'm loathe to use the heating unless it's absolutely icy outside.

I live in an area where crossrail has just opened and the majority of the area is a poverty-ridden shithole and there are now manky poky flats with brown carpets in worn down high rise blocks for £1700 a month.

We are hoping that our LL prefers the stability of a long term responsible tenant rather than trying to cash in.

I keep an eye on Rightmove and there are more properties available now than six months ago, but nothing compared to when we moved last back in 2020.

What gives me solace is should the LL want to put the rent up a stupid amount, I would ensure I didnt leave the property until I had another lines up. Its important to know your rights as a tenant.

@Seasonofthewitch83 That is what I see! We are not in a posh house by any means. But I look at places a lot worse than ours and can't believe what they are asking for them.

Our rent is well under market rent although has gone up 10% this year. We've been in the same house for 9 years. It would be really awful of we had to find somewhere else now though although we would be able to afford it it would really limit our ability to save for a deposit which feels like a neverending task.

Im in South London and Im now paying almost £2000 a month for a house with damp in the bedrooms and no extractor fan in the bathroom. Im scared to call him and tell him the extent of the problems because ive been here 5 years and as im now single I would really struggle to get anyone to take me on again if he decided to get me to leave. I now earn below the eligability checks for a new rental property so im screwed and have no choice but to pay.

I think the state of the rental market in this country is appalling.

I had to find a rental flat after selling my own flat and relocating to a new town while I look for a new home to buy next (which I know is a lucky position to be in).

Finding a flat to rent, even a small one bed as I have now, was a nightmare. So many financial and reference checks were done (more than I ever had to provide for a mortgage...) and it took endless phone calls to the agents to get things done.

I simply don't know how people manage to find and afford places to rent in these conditions, especially in the more expensive places like London.

Then, rental flats always seem to have something wrong with them... My bathroom ceiling has some damp stains that appeared shortly after I moved in which is probably due to the lack of extractor fan or a leaky gutter outside and the loo wasn't flushing this morning so I had a lovely time removing the blockage...

I am speeding up my house hunting because I just want to be back to owning somewhere. At least you have control on repairs and you can't be thrown out at the landlord's whim. Anyone stuck renting long term has all my sympathy.

We're managing fine because our rent, although high when we moved in 5 years ago, is now well under the average for our area. There is no mortgage on the property and I don't expect the rent to increase any time soon, at least not by much.

Our only issue now is that we're feeling stuck here. We'd like the option to move however we'd have to be prepared for our rent to double, and considering we're about to start saving to eventually buy, we're best off staying put. We could actually afford the higher rent, but it would leave nothing to save. I appreciate we're in a fortunate position right now.