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Cost of renting in London - will we ever see prices drop?

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Original post by Mr Black Magic
Makes me wonder where they will find the space to build new homes in London. My area already seems full.


Less houses, more apartments.

New York 2.0.
Reply 21
Original post by poohat
You probably don't have kids. Thats when the crazy amount of benefit money starts. If you are a low-paid male without children then yes, you are pretty much screwed.


No thankfully. But I don't plan on my having kids in London or raising them in the UK.
I dont understand why people think they have some sort of right to live in London just becuase they were born there. I always here: "bbbb..bbuttt, Ill have to leave London". They make it sound like theyre having to leave the country. Then again, it just shows how disconnected London is from the rest of the UK.
Reply 23
Original post by Mr Black Magic
Makes me wonder where they will find the space to build new homes in London. My area already seems full.

Its not space thats the issue, its infrastructure. Most of London is fairly low density housing - street after street of victorian terraces. Compare to a city like New York/Sinagpore/etc where most residential buildings are 6-20 stores tall.

You could easily fix the housing situation by demolishing streets of decaying terraced housing and building high rise flats. However this isn't feasible since a) UK planning law pretty much means its impossible to knock anything down, ever, b) UK planning law means its almost impossible to build high density housing, and c) the tube/NHS/school systems couldn't handle the population increase, they are already crumbling in London
Reply 24
Original post by MeYou2Night
I dont understand why people think they have some sort of right to live in London just becuase they were born there. I always here: "bbbb..bbuttt, Ill have to leave London". They make it sound like theyre having to leave the country. Then again, it just shows how disconnected London is from the rest of the UK.

this is wrong, people shouldn't have to move away from the community they grew up in just because the government thought it would be a good idea to pay hundreds of thousands of third worlders £20k+ a year to live in London and drive out the native population.

If people were having to leave London for organic reasons (i.e. costs had increased naturally and they could no longer afford it) then that would be fine - sad for them perhaps, but natural and understandable. However this is absolutely not what happened - the London housing crisis is an artificial situation created by decades of terrible government policy.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Rakas21
Less houses, more apartments.

New York 2.0.


Yeah I guess building vertically will be the only way. The new builds popping up aren't affordable though, they're shared ownership/private/purchase/rent schemes available for the rich. These apartments consume land but don't really address the wider housing crisis since they only appeal to a select few.
Original post by poohat
this is a dumb opinion, people shouldn't have to move away from the community they grew up in just because the government thought it would be a good idea to pay hundreds of thousands of third worlders £20k+ a year to live in London and drive out the native population.

If people were having to leave London for organic reasons (i.e. costs had increased naturally and they could no longer afford it) then that would be fine - sad for them perhaps, but natural and understandable. However this is absolutely not what happened - the London housing crisis is an artificial situation created by decades of terrible government policy.


All Im saying is, if I cold afford to live in London then I would but I cant, so I dont (and Im quite well off).Why should people who happened just to be born there have some sort of absolute untouchable right to live there?
Reply 27
It's pretty bad. I want to get out of London for this reason, but I'll probably have to stay for another year or so (for work).
Original post by poohat
Pretty much 0% chance of them dropping. Demand is still extremely high and continuing to rise, due to a) immigration (which will continue to increase rather than decrease), b) lack of career opportunities for young people in other UK cities, and c) housing benefits (70% of people renting in London get government assistance with their rent - the reason why landlords can get away with charging so much is because the government will happy pick up the bill on behalf of the tenants).
70%!!!:O

Im a pharmacist student currently studying in uk from ireland and wish to work in england for a few years. my wage will be low at 20grand for the first year.

will I have a shot at getting this housing benefit do you think?

Original post by poohat
Depends on what stage of your life you are at. If you are happy living in a room in a shared flat, then £30k. If you want to live alone and have no kids, then around £50-60k. If you have kids (and hence need to live somewhere that has reasonable schools, and have spare bedrooms) then around £100-150k would be the minimum.

In all these cases you would be renting in a decent (but not great) part of zone 2/3. For zone 1, double all the above figures. If you have kids and are willing to live outside London in one of the commuter towns and spend 1+ hours commuting in (like most people do) then you could probably get by on £70-80k.
great advice. feck I wont have 30grand in my first year post grad...maybe if I share a room with my gf..hmmm
Reply 29
Original post by MeYou2Night
All Im saying is, if I cold afford to live in London then I would but I cant, so I dont (and Im quite well off).Why should people who happened just to be born there have some sort of absolute untouchable right to live there?

Why should people who weren't born there get paid to live there by the government?

If that didnt happen, then the people who were born there would still be able to live there.
Come to Bristol!!! its much better!.

Smaller, less people, cheaper (to an extent) The posher//wealthier areas (One in which I lived for two years for uni) are getting more expensive though but doesnt bother me at the moment as Im back home currently in the glorious Wiltshire countryside which is better than any city 24/7
Reply 31
Original post by trustmeimlying1

Im a pharmacist student currently studying in uk from ireland and wish to work in england for a few years. my wage will be low at 20grand for the first year.

will I have a shot at getting this housing benefit do you think?
You will probably be eligible for benefits, you can check at http://www.entitledto.co.uk


great advice. feck I wont have 30grand in my first year post grad...maybe if I share a room with my gf..hmmm
Those numbers were more about what you would need to have a reasonable quality of life (not great or anything, but able to afford to go out a couple of nights a week, etc). If you are happy living a student lifestyle (cooking at home, restaurants a few times a month at most, no vacations, drinking only in cheap pubs, etc) then you can get by on a lot less than £30k. Students do manage to survive in London, after all.
Original post by poohat
Why should people who weren't born there get paid to live there by the government?

If that didnt happen, then the people who were born there would still be able to live there.


You're making it sound like it's a different country!! Newsflash: It isn't!!!! Despite what you cockneys think

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Reply 33
Original post by MeYou2Night
You're making it sound like it's a different country!! Newsflash: It isn't!!!! Despite what you cockneys think

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70% of 'poor' people living in London are either foreign, or ethnic minorities (Graph 7). I put 'poor' in quotes, because these are the families typically receiving £20-40k of tax free government benefits which allows them to cover their housing costs.

These people are largely not UK natives. They are literally being paid to live in London by the government. As a result of this, the native population can no longer afford to live there, due to the knock on effect it has on the rental market, driving up prices for everyone else.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by poohat
70% of 'poor' people living in London are either foreign, or ethnic minorities (Graph 7). I put 'poor' in quotes, because these are the families typically receiving £20-40k of tax free government benefits which allows them to cover their housing costs.

These people are largely not UK natives. They are literally being paid to live in London by the government. As a result of this, the native population can no longer afford to live there, due to the knock on effect it has on the rental market, driving up prices for everyone else.


You sound like a racist so I will no longer communicate with you

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Original post by poohat
70% of 'poor' people living in London are either foreign, or ethnic minorities (Graph 7). I put 'poor' in quotes, because these are the families typically receiving £20-40k of tax free government benefits which allows them to cover their housing costs.These people are largely not UK natives. They are literally being paid to live in London by the government. As a result of this, the native population can no longer afford to live there, due to the knock on effect it has on the rental market, driving up prices for everyone else.


In all fairness people are paid by the government to live everywhere so its not really an argument
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by poohat
You will probably be eligible for benefits, you can check at http://www.entitledto.co.uk


Those numbers were more about what you would need to have a reasonable quality of life (not great or anything, but able to afford to go out a couple of nights a week, etc). If you are happy living a student lifestyle (cooking at home, restaurants a few times a month at most, no vacations, drinking only in cheap pubs, etc) then you can get by on a lot less than £30k. Students do manage to survive in London, after all.
doesnt seem like I am entitled unfortunately

obviously the wage is too much..

as i have no other income or benefits...

seems you cant get it unless you have a family or earn feck all i.e. less than 20grand
Original post by poohat
70% of 'poor' people living in London are either foreign, or ethnic minorities (Graph 7). I put 'poor' in quotes, because these are the families typically receiving £20-40k of tax free government benefits which allows them to cover their housing costs.

These people are largely not UK natives. They are literally being paid to live in London by the government. As a result of this, the native population can no longer afford to live there, due to the knock on effect it has on the rental market, driving up prices for everyone else.


yeh strange circumstances alright...must cost a bomb.
Reply 38
Original post by trustmeimlying1
doesnt seem like I am entitled unfortunately

obviously the wage is too much..

as i have no other income or benefits...

seems you cant get it unless you have a family or earn feck all i.e. less than 20grand
Yeah in general, childless people don't really get much from the benefit system. It massively favors families and single mothers. The second you have kids, you get a fortune. Until then, you are pretty much on your own.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by poohat
Yeah in general, single males don't really get much from the benefit system. It massively favors families and women (particularly single mothers). The second you have kids, you get a fortune. Until then, you are pretty much on your own.


always good to know and cheers for advice

think il give the transgender operation a miss all the same...

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