Rising rents have hit Ben McNeil hard: “I’m worried about what’s going to happen next,” he told the BBC.
The 25-year-old has already moved to a cheaper home this year but fears he will have to move again unless he finds a better-paying job.
“I was staying in a six-person house in Bristol but it was getting more and more expensive so I moved with a friend to South Gloucestershire on the outskirts of the city.
“My old room is now £800 and in our new flat we pay £1,200 together, but my share is still almost half my salary.”
They have yet to turn on the heating and worry what that will do to their bills, which already exceed £450 a month.
“We have a lease through May, but unless we get better-paying jobs, we can’t afford higher rates,” said Ben, a community worker.
The couple plan to look for a new rental home by Christmas unless their prospects improve.
Renters across the country are feeling the pinch as rents outside London hit a new high averaging £1,162 a month in September.
In London, rents have risen to £2,343, new data from property website Rightmove shows.
Rents in the capital have risen 16.1% since last October, while the rest of the country has seen an average increase of 11%.
“It’s a real challenge for renters right now,” says Tim Bannister of Rightmove.
“There just aren’t enough rental properties to meet the demand from prospective buyers.”
Although there are more new rental properties available in all regions except London, demand still far outweighs the number of homes available for rent, he said.
Demand has increased by 20% year-on-year, while the total number of available rental properties has decreased by 9%.
That is leading to increasingly fierce competition between tenants looking for a home, said Tim Hassell, director at Draker Lettings in London.
“Within hours of a property going live, we receive dozens of inquiries, which is extreme compared to the pre-Covid market.
“We used to get between 5 and 10 requests in the first 48 hours and now we get 30 to 40 in the same period.”
Even advertised rents are often exceeded where demand is particularly high, said David Reed, operations director at Richmond real estate agency Antony Roberts. “The proximity to the transport infrastructure or the catchment area of a good school prove to be a major driver,” he said.
And with the cost of living crisis hitting people’s purses and wallets, as well as the renewed popularity of city centers, studio apartments have overtaken one-bed rooms as the most sought-after apartment types for renters.
According to a survey, four times as many tenants are now looking for a studio apartment as studio apartments are available.
Renters are looking for smaller and more affordable homes, while the rise in mortgage rates may have encouraged some would-be homebuyers to change plans and rent longer and in a smaller location while saving for a bigger down payment.
“Those looking to rent a smaller property over the next few months may find they face additional competition from potential first-time buyers whose plans to buy have been dashed for the time being due to the sudden hike in mortgage rates.” said Mr. Bannister.
Meanwhile, it’s not just younger tenants who want to return to the city centre, said property agent John O’Malley of Glasgow-based Pacitti Jones.
“The dramatic increase in the cost of living means we are now seeing older people downsizing in city apartments to reduce household bills and travel expenses,” he said.
Outside of London, the highest annual increase was in Wales, where average asking rents increased by 15.2%. However, the average monthly rent in the Principality is £974.
That’s not the lowest average rent across the country – it can be found in the North East at £779 a month, up 11.5% year-on-year.
But there is some light at the end of the tunnel, Mr Reed opined: “The acceleration in rent growth is slowing as the rising cost of living hurts rent affordability.”
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