Page 9 | My professional salary only just covers my rent. How can this be?

Rentmakesmepoor · 2023-09-19T08:20:41+00:00

I am an occupational therapist in the NHS. I am a single parent. After tax, student loan and pension I take home roughly £1900. I live in the South East of England. My rent is £1750 a month for a 3 bed, SMALL semi detached house with a courtyard garden How is it that we have got to the point in this country that my salary literally just pays for my rent and nothing else?? I am permanently skint. I am not looking for solutions as I do nd claim everything I can (which is not alot). But how can this be?

horseyhorsey17 · 19/09/2023 11:28

Testingprof · 19/09/2023 11:18

It really is new. I don’t know what you are talking about 40 years ago… in the area I live (London) teachers could definitely afford to buy in the 80s. In fact a non professional single income could buy in pretty central London. I know as several family members did.

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Yeah, my mum bought a house in the SE for £16K on a part-time dentist's salary in 1979.

TrashedSofa · 19/09/2023 11:28

DisquietintheRanks · 19/09/2023 11:27

If London needs workers on low wages then I guess it needs to house them. It doesn't have the right to expect the public purse to double their wages just so the average London house can retain its stupidly high price.

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This is a reasonable point.

IMustDoMoreExercise · 19/09/2023 11:28

Fieldofbrokenpromises · 19/09/2023 11:26

But how can this be?
13 years of Tory rule.
Perhaps eventually people will realise that the Tories always shit on ordinary workers whilst stuffing their pockets with our cash.

No, it isn't. It is because her husband died and it is very difficult to run a household with one income.

The Tories keep trying to build houses but nimbys keep voting them out at council elections to stop them.

What are they supposed to do?

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 19/09/2023 11:31

actualpuffins · 19/09/2023 11:26

Sure, but there are an awful lot of regular sized ordinary flats in London too.

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And how many would you need to counteract the multiple properties on RightMove alone listed at 200grand per month? Ridiculous amounts.

I agree London rents are much higher than some other areas in the UK but that statistic doesn't actually work to demonstrate your point.

Faithalways · 19/09/2023 11:31

Hi, just wanted to say I empathise with you completely, also single parent here and living in SE I also work in Healthcare but as a nurse - previously I worked in secondary care with similar income as yourself. When you work so hard, emotionally and physically drained but your income does not reflect all the work you put in - it's not right
To all those saying move north, yes its cheaper but when you have friends and family where you are currently living its much easier said than done. I pray things will change for you and will get easier one day

horseyhorsey17 · 19/09/2023 11:31

PictureFrameWindow · 19/09/2023 11:24

There's some extraordinary victim blaming here. High house prices hurt all of us, and they were certainly not caused by workers like the OP.

It's crazy that we can't look back to higher standards of living in the noughties without immediately getting told not to rise above our station. Divide and rule from the tories seems to be working pretty well.

This thread reads like half the Stoke-on-Trent Conservative Association is on this post right now, slamming the OP for her temerity in living in the south east and thinking she, as a full-time essential worker, has the right to live in a house she can afford.

megletthesecond · 19/09/2023 11:32

Suggesting a lone parent moves away from schools, work and possibly a support network are daft. That will only make life harder.

Anotherrname · 19/09/2023 11:32

Rentmakesmepoor · 19/09/2023 11:12

I'm actually finding this really upsetting now. My partner left me when I was 29 years old and then died a year later when he was 31. He didn't have any pension and no life insurance because he couldn't get it due to the health condition that killed him. That's why I called myself a single parent as I was, before he died. I didn't see the need to add that I had 4 children in my original post as it really wasn't relevant to the point I was making.
I also stated I was not asking for advice, more moaning about the cost of living.
This didn't need to be a witch hunt. I once asked for advice on moving to a cheaper area and the same posters destroyed me for even considering moving my children away from their schools, grandparents and where we have lived since I was born.

So many posters are uncessarily unkind and goady.

I'm glad that some of you don't have time live my life, seriously, but some empathy would be nice.

Definitely leaving this bow. Thanks for the kind people that got my point

I'm sorry to hear that. Please don't feel guilty for moving to a cheaper area. Children are usually very good at settling into new schools and making new friends. Grandparents can always visit. My dd lives near my parents but her other set of grandparents live hours away. You need to think about what is best for you and your children and that is moving to a cheaper area so you have a better way of life with more money.

SomeCatFromJapan · 19/09/2023 11:34

Yet another poster driven off a thread they were hoping to get some support from. This site is infested with pricks.

JustWhatWeDontNeed · 19/09/2023 11:35

HappiestSleeping · 19/09/2023 09:58

Some landlords have rising expenses too. The mortgage rate has increased for landlords the same as it has for owner occupiers. Its not always greed, just market forces.

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Yes and this raises the question of whether private landlords should even exist. Or if they do exist, should they be able to rent out a property that has a mortgage on it? My rent went up £200 last year. I know I'm now two payments away from yet another increase. Regardless of market forces, it's not fair.

SueVineer · 19/09/2023 11:35

SusiePevensie · 19/09/2023 11:18

Thing is, OP isn't asking for a castle, or to be bailed out. She wants to be able to live in a 3 bed house, while doing a hugely socially useful job that saves the country many many thousands of future physical and mental health costs.

On her wage though she will get uc help for rent and childcare as well as child benefit. Rightly so.

horseyhorsey17 · 19/09/2023 11:35

IMustDoMoreExercise · 19/09/2023 11:28

No, it isn't. It is because her husband died and it is very difficult to run a household with one income.

The Tories keep trying to build houses but nimbys keep voting them out at council elections to stop them.

What are they supposed to do?

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Don't be daft. The 'Tories' are not trying to build houses - they're taking huge sums from their chums in the building industry who want to build houses they can sell for vast sums and if for whatever reason (usually because they want to build on protected land or a floodplain or somewhere without enough infrastructure for a new development) they're not allowed to do that, they don't build but hang onto the land anyway. Developers are not remotely interested in building affordable housing and yes that's directly related to government policy.

TripleDaisySummer · 19/09/2023 11:36

There's some extraordinary victim blaming here. High house prices hurt all of us, and they were certainly not caused by workers like the OP.

They absolutely do - and rental sector needs reform - more protection for landlords against bad tenants and more price control and min standards and longer terms for renters - something that balances risks and benefits so landlords don't flee the market pushing rents ever higher as rental stock levels fall.

I've seen projection though that suggest when we do get to a falling population - another decade or so - there will be a 2% depression per year on house prices - no idea about rental as that has got worse lately.

Plus we aren't the only country with house price issues -I've seen parts of USA and Australian are even worse - with rents and prices.

I don't understand now how people afford to live in London on lower wages now and there must already be close to point where commuting in or living in rental just isn't worth it for core workers ie teachers, nurses firefighter cleaners.

kerrywhatKERRYWHAAAT · 19/09/2023 11:36

megletthesecond · 19/09/2023 11:32

Suggesting a lone parent moves away from schools, work and possibly a support network are daft. That will only make life harder.

Not necessarily. We had to do it and it's made our life easier. Eldest had to change schools, she managed. Unfortunately it's what some people have to do currently. It's rubbish but sometimes necessary.
It's horrible op was piled on on a previous post about relocating to a cheaper area.

Doggymummar · 19/09/2023 11:36

I'm the same my rent is £250 less than my take home pay. Screwed if my partner leaves me.

Wakintoblueskies · 19/09/2023 11:36

horseyhorsey17 · 19/09/2023 11:11

With their parents.

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The lucky students maybe but not the thousands of others.

Fuckingfuming1 · 19/09/2023 11:38

Rents, having increased by 12% and wages have increased by 7.5 there is the discrepancy.

SueVineer · 19/09/2023 11:38

JustWhatWeDontNeed · 19/09/2023 11:35

Yes and this raises the question of whether private landlords should even exist. Or if they do exist, should they be able to rent out a property that has a mortgage on it? My rent went up £200 last year. I know I'm now two payments away from yet another increase. Regardless of market forces, it's not fair.

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all landlords have borrowings including housing associations etc. I understand what you mean and we need more housing but preventing landlords from borrowing would only make things worse.

horseyhorsey17 · 19/09/2023 11:38

Anotherrname · 19/09/2023 11:32

I'm sorry to hear that. Please don't feel guilty for moving to a cheaper area. Children are usually very good at settling into new schools and making new friends. Grandparents can always visit. My dd lives near my parents but her other set of grandparents live hours away. You need to think about what is best for you and your children and that is moving to a cheaper area so you have a better way of life with more money.

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No it isn't. I am in a similar position (although just about getting by) and no way would I uproot from my support network of family and friends, and my kids' friends - and why should I? I shouldn't be in this position but I am thanks to government ineptitude and greed.

It's insane - and wholly impractical - to suggest that moving north is the answer to economic problems that are caused by policy and not people.

ohdamnitjanet · 19/09/2023 11:39

Rentmakesmepoor · 19/09/2023 11:12

I'm actually finding this really upsetting now. My partner left me when I was 29 years old and then died a year later when he was 31. He didn't have any pension and no life insurance because he couldn't get it due to the health condition that killed him. That's why I called myself a single parent as I was, before he died. I didn't see the need to add that I had 4 children in my original post as it really wasn't relevant to the point I was making.
I also stated I was not asking for advice, more moaning about the cost of living.
This didn't need to be a witch hunt. I once asked for advice on moving to a cheaper area and the same posters destroyed me for even considering moving my children away from their schools, grandparents and where we have lived since I was born.

So many posters are uncessarily unkind and goady.

I'm glad that some of you don't have time live my life, seriously, but some empathy would be nice.

Definitely leaving this bow. Thanks for the kind people that got my point

I’m so sorry @Rentmakesmepoor, you’ve had a really tough few years and I can only imagine how stressful looking after 4 children alone as well as everything else is. There will always be really horrible smug bastards here who are typical keyboard warriors and have nothing decent or kind to say, ever.

Deathbyfluffy · 19/09/2023 11:40

LadyofLansallos · 19/09/2023 09:30

‘It’s because of where you live’ isn’t really the answer. Are we saying there are areas of the UK where it would be fine to just not have any OTs, SLT etc as they just can’t afford to live there, no biggie?

They'll have to be married and have a joint income (the rent in the OP would be fine between two people on the same wage) or commute from cheaper areas - there's plenty of cheaper towns within an hour's drive of most expensive places.

It's how it is all over the country - either earn more or move to a cheaper area. I had to do the latter.

Deathbyfluffy · 19/09/2023 11:40

OhNoForever · 19/09/2023 09:30

Rents have increased to a ridiculous extent. Greedy landlords will suffer when the housing market crashes.
Can you get on the social housing list?

The crash that's been coming for 15 years, but still hasn't materialised?

horseyhorsey17 · 19/09/2023 11:40

Wakintoblueskies · 19/09/2023 11:36

The lucky students maybe but not the thousands of others.

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Round here, which is also the south east, most people in low paid jobs are living at home with their parents. There are a few in my road with multiple generations living there.

There are older people in low paid jobs but they will have bought before the housing prices went mental.

AnIndianWoman · 19/09/2023 11:41

You must be on approx £36-50K as an Occupational Health Therapist in the SE. That should be enough to support a small family and in other parts of the country it definitely is. I guess that’s why people suggest you move. London and the SE isn’t suitable for single parent families any more. I know people on 100K who are struggling.

Hufflepods · 19/09/2023 11:41

A below average income with an above average amount of children is obviously going to be tight financially. The people claiming it is "mean" to point that out are unhinged.

OP receives child benefit, universal credit and housing benefit on top. She isn't left with £150. It is pointless to compare her salary to her rent with it isn't her total income.