Rent trap keeps many off housing ladder, says Shelter
Rents in the south east are rising by an average of £297 a year, leaving many in a ‘rent trap’ with little or nothing left to save for a home of their own, says housing charity Shelter.
A new report analyses government figures to find that average private rents in the South East rose by three per cent from 2011 to 2012, equivalent to an increase of £297 in a year on a typical rented home. In the same period, the average wage in the South East rose by 1.8 per cent.
The report finds that high rents leave many renters with so little left over that they struggle to save for a deposit on a home of their own.
A survey of 4,300 renters in England commissioned by Shelter found that in the South East, more than half (54 per cent) say that after paying for rent and essential bills, they have just £100 or less left over each month for everything else.
As a result, three in four renters in the south east say that they are only able to put aside £50 or less each month in savings, leaving them with little hope of saving for a deposit. Worryingly, more than half of renters in the region say that they are not able to save any money at all.
Census data released last month revealed a seismic shift towards renting over the last ten years, showing that the proportion of homes rented privately has rocketed by 69 per cent since 2001.
In the same period, the proportion of homes owned with a mortgage dropped by 15 per cent, as more and more people are priced out of homeownership.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “This report reveals the huge scale of the rent trap holding back young people and families in the South East. Rising rents are leaving people with little or nothing to save at the end of each month, giving them little chance of ever saving enough to climb on to the property ladder.
“The renters we speak to have never been less hopeful. A relentless stream of rent rises means that most feel they will never move on from a life paying ‘dead money’ to landlords, in a home that they can’t make their own. And for some, rising rents have more immediate consequences – not enough money to spend on food, fuel or other essentials.
“Unless something changes, the chances of the next generation getting a home to call their own look increasingly bleak. The government needs to show young people and families exactly how it plans to dismantle the rent trap for good.”
Email to a friend
Print this page- ‘I’m not prepared to do this job and drive 600 miles a week’: Police chief defends expenses and ‘chauffeur’
- Singer 'fine' after new car drama
- UPDATED: Aylesbury councillor apologises for ‘murderous Tories’ Twitter slur
- Four Thame companies are the pick of the bunch
- ‘She will be greatly missed’: Family’s tribute to grandmother killed in car crash
- TV show gives Long Crendon family a property boost
- Health boss promises improvements at Stoke Mandeville Hospital following report
- Producer hoping for roaring success in Ice Age documentary
- Dreams can come true: Aylesbury boy Emmerson Boyce lifts the FA Cup for Wigan
- Boot made in Aylesbury could save millions of diabetic people from foot amputations
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Thame
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
