To wonder how people afford to private rent and think there should be a cap on it

[user1498221998]

From the age of 21 I have rented from Housing Association. When I finished my University studies I was unemployed and didn't want to return to my Parents or house share so I applied for social housing. Got given a HA apartment and when I had my Son at 23 I got given a council house.

I've never had the money to buy or private rent so never got to live somewhere I actually wanted and always felt upset and angry at the fact I lived somewhere I didn't like and couldn't move.

I'm in the process of moving to a smaller house but in an area I prefer. I am moving from a two bed semi detached house to a two up two down terraced house but I will be happier there. When viewing I got speaking to the neighbour who informed me she pays £750 a month to rent her house privately!!!! I was absolutely stunned. This is a fairl;y grotty, tiny two bed terraced house in a rough part of Manchester (Central though which pushes the price up).

Intrigued I went on rightmove and found the house I currently rent for £380 a month is on a street where the houses are £700 a month to rent!!!

I am stunned! I've never private rented so never knew the cost. I will appreciate my HA property so much more now.

Both houses are worth about £120k. That's a lot of rent for 120k house. I can understand high rents in desirable areas but these are not. I earn 29k and couldn't afford to rent privately. How do people afford it?

AIBU to think there should be some cap on how much private landlords can charge?

Housing in the uk is out of control - the buy to let market needs regulating, maybe I mean curtailing.

At current rental yields it doesn't massively make sense to BTL unless you can be bothered with the hassle of students or HMOs which have better yields.

The rent on my HA house is nearly £700pcm. (3 bed.)
You can imagine what private rents are!

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have this place. It's too small but no way would I be able to rent privately.

29k runs to around 1800 net a month I think so rent of 750 is affordable

We rented a 2 bed flat in Croydon for £950pcm.. it's mad.

At 29K earnings per annum, I'm surprised you are allowed a HA property though.. not sure how it works tbh.

We rented a grotty little two bed house (more like a studio flat, it was that tiny!), and it was £975 a month. Wasn't in the best of areas either.
We've now moved to a lovely area in a huge three bed house, and pay £1150 in rent a month.
Yes, private renting is very expensive, and we are very lucky that DH has a great job to afford it. I'm currently a SAHM, but when I return to work we will be saving for a mortgage.

But I think a rental cap is a good idea, yes. It's never going to happen under Tories though.

I don't understand how you can't afford to rent privately tbh...do you have a lot of outgoings? 29k is quite a high wage to me.

The new house I'm moving to is a two up two down but others rented on the street are rented as student homes with three double bedrooms.

Each student pays £80 a week. That's £320 a WEEK in rent on a house you pay about £100k for!

I've never had the option to rent from a HA. I don't even know how you go about it or what qualifies you. I wouldn't assume just not wanting to stay with your parents qualifies you for significantly cheaper rent?

Btw our last place was 1500 pcm and current place 1350 pcm, south east. We can't really move further away as it is DPs job that allows us to be able to afford it.

Mortgages push it up. For instance, my landlord does not have a mortgage on my house, so I only pay a smidge more than a HA property. If they did, I'd have to pay a smidge more (at least!) than what they were paying monthly, for them not to make a loss.

I was unemployed and homeless which meant I was entitled to a HA apartment. I was in student halls but had a deadline to leave as I'd graduated.

Now young people have it really tough but back when I was 21 the housing rules hadn't come in.

Wales btw; HA properties the same as mine (ex council) are 125 a week, mine is 500 a month.

Unpopular opinion, but I think private rent too should be capped. Public pay should also be kept in line with inflation - this is why lots of "middle class" families e.g. with teachers and nurses, are suffering.

When I owned an identical house, I was paying pretty much the same as the rent now in mortgage

I earn £10k less than you and rent privately, so not sure why you can't.

It's a choice you're making.

I rented a tiny 1 bedroom flat in greater London for £1200pcm not including council tax. It was so small we had to keep our wardrobe in the communal hallway. It's wicked.

If imagine most people on 29grand rent or buy privately.

Conversely it's hard for those on that kind of income to feel they're doing the same job/same income as someone else but they're paying far more for their rent!!

I live in the NE.
We paid a private LL £490 a month last year and it was a really struggle. I'm a SAHM and my DH is stuck in a job that he will not get a pay rise in unless the government make it a legal requirement.
Last November we finally managed to move into a 2 bed council flat (2 kids) and our rent is £380 which is obviously much easier to manage. The council made a mistake with my DH wage slips (didn't calculate NI so assumed we got more money than we are letting on) so stopped our Housing benefit altogether. If we had been privately renting we would have been homeless.
I'm grateful we are in social housing. I don't know how people can afford decent private rentals and believe their should be a cap. I also believe employers should be forced to pay a decent wage (not the basic minimum).

I pay £1100 pm plus all bills... I can afford it but finding a new job that pays me enough requires more careful planning, saving can be hard (but I do enjoy shopping...!)

I'm in a fortune position to be able to earn as much as I do, to be able to afford it but I will never be able to afford a deposit on a property- 1 bed flats are about £320,000 around here, and I need to be here for work.

OP I rented out my old £125k house for £650 a month.

Mortgage was £612. With repairs and everything else, I barely covered my expenses.

I rented somewhere for £600 PCM in my first year of work when I earned £15,000.

Rented in Bristol about 40 min bus ride from the town centre. Small 1 bed house but did have a drive and garden, £700 pcm. That's before you factor in agency fees, deposits etc.

It is absolutely ridiculous when you look at city centre rents in Bristol (and I'm sure many other cities). The first flat I lived in was aimed at students, tiny 1 bed flat with no outdoor space/parking about 15 min walk to town centre was £870 a month. How a single student was supposed to afford that I will never know!

I'd say 29k and 750 rent are compatible too...

How can anyone afford it?

No choice, really. There's no getting a mortgage without a deposit, it's impossible to save the deposit whilst paying the rent. Catch 22.