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?

but they should also be able to get rid of tenants who don't pay their rent

Indeed, and very quickly. A private landlord is the only private supplier of services who is forced by law to go on supplying the service when the buyer stops paying.

And once court proceedings begin the tenant has no incentive to pay or to treat the property correctly, and the proceedings can take months, and cost an irrecoverable fortune.

If you want landlords to take "DSS" tenants there is a way. Pay the HB direct to the landlord from Day One, and go on paying it until possession is given up.

I only know examples of council properties around here (Greater London / South East) but the amount you earn once you are inside is completely irrelevant or ignored. You can start earning a 6 figure salary and keep your council house at council rent rate (and not be responsible for any repair or maintenance obviously). I can think of a few people who manage to save their deposit that way. They would have been stupid to go private and pay a huge rent!

On the other hand, there seem to be a shortage of available properties. The system does not seem very fair.

Please just tell me all the people complaining about rents voted Labour - this year and in 2015. Or at least not Tory.

I don't know why you can't have the simple and effective rules there are for renting where I live. They are fairly new but rather good.

I rent a house. It's quite expensive but 1/3 of my rent is paid by the council because I'm fairly poor. My landlord is only allowed to review the rent every 2 years, and they are only alllowed to raise it a max of 5%. They can't get me out unless they need to move in or they are selling it, both of which they have to prove, or if I break the contract by not paying rate or anti-social behaviour. I have a secure tenancy for 6 years. They have to maintain it to fairly good standards by law.

This is all a no brainer.

Oh and no agency fees of any type, I pay nothing to the letting agents, ALL costs are for the landlord to pay. None of your nonsense about paying for credit checks or renewals.

No I don't think the tenant should provide 6 months notice

And as for tenants who don't pay rent - well I'd be looking at the landlord and safety checks and quality of living conditions before making a fuss
There is plenty of substandard mouldy rental stock
Tenants should have rights to withhold rents when safety checks/ mould/broken roofs aren't fixed immediately

ALL costs are for the landlord to pay.
then they will just have to increase the rent to cover the fees.

The less flexibility you give a landlord, and the stricter they will be for new tenants. If you know you will be stuck for years, you might as well go for holiday let, or only rent to people who are looking for temporary accomodation.

Well there is plenty of rental property in continental Europe and in France a lot tighter protection for tenants
For too long landlords have been creaming it
I see it myself, as a landlord, and fully support an increase in tax and a registry for landlords

there is more protection, but people have much less a sense of entitlement to council properties. The property market is not the same either.

I think that if you increase tax for landlords then they will have to increase the rents. Why should people lose money when they run a business? Which business offers the lowest possible price, if they can't run volume?

then they will just have to increase the rent to cover the fees

They can't. See my first post!

I rent in Manchester. My rent hasn't risen for 4 years. The house across the road from me recently went up for rent for £195 a month more than I pay. I think my rent is pretty fair, but the rent my across the road neighbours pay is outrageous for the house and area. HA properties are like gold dust.

people say rents are high, but so are the cost of properties. Landlord take a risk, run a business, why shouldn't they make money? Do people really hope for all small landlords to disappear and be replace by an "Easy Let" kind of company?

We would all love for properties to be cheaper, not just tenants, home owners too. It's not fair to have to spend hours commuting and spend most of what is left of your income after tax in a mortgage and have pretty much nothing left over. I would be the very first to be delighted to only pay a couple of hundred quid a month!
Just not sure how realistic that is.

There are no HA properties around here, If you can get on I agree they are like gold dust, they are much cheaper.

You earn more than my sister and she's a doctor ... on 27k she is renting a home for 700pcm ... and she's not struggling ( true she doesn't have a child though)

There is no problem with landlords making money. They can easily do it in a framework that also gives protection to renters. They shouldn't be making money at the expense of people struggling to house themselves.

Excuse my ignorance- but why are you allowed to continue living in HA/Council properties for such low rent when you earn so much?
I'm wondering the same thing, and 29k is more than what me and my DP earn atm and we private rent, we don't have a choice!

In applications I have seen, HA never ask your earnings, just whether you earn and pay yourself, or whether HB pays all/part.

HA properties are allocated on physical circumstances, not earnings.

Waiting lists basically go:

1. Homeless
2. Inadequately housed (overoccuppied or disability etc)
3. Adequately housed

Then in those categories, there is basically a list of first come, first served.
However, this is just my experience - it may work differently in different areas that are particularly oversubscribed

Landlords should have more stringent safety checks on properties and should have to provide 6 months notice to tenants to move

Ktown No I don't think the tenant should provide 6 months notice but you can't have your cake and eat it.

I rent privately in a nice part of London and pay quite a good price for what I have. I also have a very understanding land lady who didn't discriminate because I have a disability and no guarantor.

I wish private housing was easier to access if you are in my position though. The waiting list for social housing in my area is really long, so isn't really an option.

My mother wanted to buy me a property and since I have French citizenship, she has also been looking outside of the UK. A studio with a pool was €370 per month. And about €185,000 to buy A place with a few rooms.

The agency fees are what need to be capped
one bit of good news
www.bbc.com/news/business-40354019
'More than six months after first suggesting the idea, the government has announced plans to ban fees to lettings agents in England.
A new Tenants' Fees Bill was announced in the Queen's Speech, which will stop tenants having to pay money to agents'

You earn £29K and say you can't afford to rent??? Are you BONKERS?!

I earn £29K in central London and pay £1000 a month for a room in a flat (bills included) and still manage a good social life and to save around £200per month, whilst pay off £90permonth on my student loan.

You must bring home about £1800 a month - what on earth are you spending it on that you couldn't afford to privately rent?!

So I have to pay higher SDLT when I purchase buy to let, I'm continually faced with more compliance burden and repair liability, you would like rents capping below market level and then those properties are subject to inheritance tax when I die. Sounds like a no brainier to me...