How are people affording the increases in rent?

[stmawes]

How on earth is everyone expected to keep up with the rent increases? Like, where is the money coming from?

I am a young teacher, earn about 30k a year. Which is a decent amount. I live in Zone 3 in a rented flat with two others. I am trying to scrape together a deposit for my own place one day, so I picked a cheaper flat.

My rent is currently £650 a month. My landlord has just informed us that she is increasing the rent to £800 a month next year, "to reflect changes in the market". I offered to meet her half way, and pointed out that I am a good tenant. This was rejected.

Honestly I have no idea. I have a mortgage that costs me £900 a month. A house in my road came on for rent at £1800 a month. I was utterly gobsmacked. It baffles me how anyone can manage the rents as they are.
Not sure that's particularly helpful, but I get where you're coming from.

I really don't know either. Our rent it's £1500 and luckily our landlord isn't putting it up at the moment as we couldn't afford. We're buying and relocating as it's too expensive here.
Currently for a similar sized property you can't get anything below £1650 and that's for a really low spec house (dated decor and 15 year old carpets).

I don't think they are... It's a tough desicion but I'd start looking for jobs and housing in a cheaper area outside London where the ratio of salary to rent/mortgage isn't so out of whack.

People will move to cheaper areas, facilitated by remote employment opportunities. Those in jobs which are public facing (teachers) will seek employment in cheaper places or live with their parents for longer while saving.

It will be increasingly difficult to staff service and public sector jobs in expensive housing areas.

There should be laws to prevent massive rent increases within a tenancy period. There’s no need for it unless the landlords mortgage rate has shot up. Pure greed. 😡

They won’t. In stagflation (inflation and recession), people lose jobs, costs of living goes up and landlords start getting voids (non-payments).
Theres 2.5m BTL landlords with multiple properties in this country. It will be very difficult for newer higher leveraged landlords to remain solvent added to the fact with the regulation changes, costs and taxes (s24 etc).
In a stagnating property market (when an investment is devaluing 10% a year due to inflation) those highly leveraged will sell up creating supply (which will send property values down due to banks increasing lending restrictions and interest rates)
The landlords who own outright or have smaller leverage due to their time in the market and can afford to lower rents as they have a greater margin will do so.
So all in all there will be a brief spike in rents before the general market will find its own natural level to reflect the tenants ability to pay.
Rentals going forward will be taken up by the banks rather than individuals which will further generalise lower rental costs.

www.independent.co.uk/business/lloyds-bank-aims-to-be-uk-s-biggest-private-landlord-by-2025-b1905081.html?amp

I have no idea! Not that long ago flats near me were renting for around £750-850 a month. Last week a board went up down the road and when i looked online it's £1475!!!

I have no idea. My rent went up from 550 to 580 recently, and I’ve had to upgrade my SIM contract as well so those two regular expenses are now almost 600.

I was worried about how I could afford it and then surprisingly my stipend was increased temporarily (I’m studying and working part time). I’ll be ok for the next 6 months but after that I have no idea what I’ll do.

I’ve looked at moving but decent places are 700+ and let’s not talk about the cost of actually packing up your house and going somewhere else. Deposit, car hire etc.

@stmawes - what @Bogofballs said.
They won't afford it. They will move away to cheaper areas or making different arrangements if they possibly can.
Lower paid jobs and public service roles will becoming increasingly difficult to fill. I understand that there is a very high level of vacancies in London already.

Where are you living that rent only costs 650? I'm shocked how low that is.

Well potentially a landlord could be being hit by rising interest rates if they're in a tracker mortgage, and if your rent includes energy then that's increased massively. My current costs in my mortgaged home have gone up by £400 per month now not including food.

is It common they go up with inflation? This is the reason we were given for a 7% rise we weren’t expecting.

I'm not managing at all and I'm in a HA house, I haven't paid my council tax this month so I can buy electric and food. I don't know what to do, I'm not sleeping much

Lucky her. I haven't increased one tenants rent in nine years because he's become increasingly disabled, one still only pays two thirds of her pre-covid rent, and another are in their third year same rent. The latter I've asked the managing agent about increasing it but they say it's in line with the market (Zone 2).
I keep hearing of rent increases but in the three different areas I hold property only one could I justify would go up from the market, (the disabled guy's, and I can't do it).

We had lovely neighbours who were privately renting a house on our street. Landlord kept increasing the rent until they just couldn't make ends meet. They are currently in hotel accommodation provided by the council till they can be rehoused. The house is now sitting empty because no one can afford to rent it! Absolutely barmy!

I'm not sure how tenants are affording it but I was very shocked to see the small flat we used to own in a run down area is being rented for £900 per month when the market rate £650 just 2 years ago.

We were renting in Surrey until Feb this year and paying £1250 pcm. We gave notice and the property was re-listed at £1450. Went in 3 days.

I won't be putting my rent up while ever I have tenants in, much better to have people in and settled who can afford their bills.

Hopefully plenty of people are the same.

This is depressing. I’m expecting our renewal soon.

it’s so fucking shit, even though it’s not personal it just feels so personal. It’s your home and you just want to get on with living life with some autonomy and control.

Ouch, that's a huge increase. Markets do change and presumably, this is what rents are in your area now. It's like house prices, they can fluctuate massively. Personally, I think your LL is being short-sighted if you're a reliable tenant and I'm sorry you're in this position.

The OP's 23% increase isn't in line with inflation though!

We rent and prices are just hugely increasingly. We are hoping to buy as we have received some inheritance although I'm now stressed about that with the housing market and interest rates so it seems a double edged sword in a way - I was thrilled initially but now very worried

The house 3 doors down the family rent for £1000 we are in East Midlands and it's been re-advertised at £1450 so that's another £450!!!

I know the current tennants as we have children a similar age and they said there's been no viewings it's been advertised over a week now and it's a lovely area and popular but I just think that's too much really.

That's very very sad the poor family 😞