Generation Rent - London Version

I was a renter for many years, not coming to homeownership until I was well past forty. I never had issues with it, at least not in New Brunswick, and until recently, didn't understand the British obsession with ownership that has come about over the last decade. I understand it now. 

This article in the London Evening Standard is just one illustration of the multiple problems and issues facing the U.K. housing market. And from what I've read and heard, its not confined to this country. The horror stories are many and varied. See the articles on Vice called "Rental Opportunity of the Week" and be prepared to be .... I can't think of the words to describe it. Sickened? Incredulous? WTF?

On Twitter recently, I read a tweet by someone who was house-sharing with three other adults just outside of the capital. Monthly rent: £4000, not including things like heat and lights. The annual income to the owner from renting the house out was £48,000.00. Why sell the dump place, when you can rent it out, sit back and enjoy. And if your a bad landlord, you are more likely to get away with it in a country with lack of regulation in the rental market combined with a high demand area like London.

Click the italics below and strap in.

Searching for a Home to Rent in London? How to Get Ahead of the Competition

I could feel my mouth drop open while reading this article. Apparently there are at least twenty people lining up for every rental vacancy in or within decent commuting distance of London. Words like "guarantor" and "accountants references" (what the hell is that?) and "right to rent" pop up. The competition for a rental in the capital, decent or not, (and I guarantee will gobble up at least half if not more of your monthly income) is fierce. It helps if the landlord is not inconvenienced by having to wait more than a month for the next tenant to move in, so showing up to viewings with your bags at the ready, seems to be considered a bonus. I assume the word "voids" means the length of time the cash machine isn't occupied. 

“At the moment, speed is key,” says Greene. “Any applicant who is ready to go is the most appealing… Voids are what cost landlords money, so being able to move in quickly is particularly attractive.”

Prospective tenants are sending in biographies of themselves? Pet C.V.s was another one. Make sure your dog/cat has proof of good behaviour.  I strongly suspect pet owners are at the bottom of the list along with anyone with small children. Its dismaying to know how many landlords want "working adults only". 

“To stand out, we are seeing a high number of tenants sending us a biography with their enquiry which tells us more about themselves, their lifestyle and why they would make the ideal tenant. We have found this to be well-received by many landlords who often favour a suitable tenant for their property over a tenant who is offering above asking rent.”

This whole farce is made worse by the fact that too few renters (anywhere) can afford to buy any more, house prices are that unrealistic now. And the quality of what is available on the rental market often leaves a lot to be desired. However with lack of effective regulation, there is little protection for renters and only a bit more for landlords. 

Whatever happened to houses being homes rather than investment ops? Don't get me wrong, I'm not against landlords and there is nothing wrong with renting. In an ideal world, some people would actually prefer renting to owning so there needs to be landlords. The problems start when it becomes a free for all. Like healthcare and education, I firmly believe decent housing is a basic human right.

We bought this house back in 2020 after unloading our previous house, a former rental owned by an absentee landlord. The place was a fixer upper that frankly shouldn't have been legal to rent. In the end it was too big for just the two of us and cost a lot more than we had anticipated to bring up to scratch, but we just about managed it. Then the pandemic landed along with some incentives by the government to spur the housing market along. (This country seems to have little in the way of business besides banking and property sales. Doesn't exactly translate to a booming export op, does it.) We were very fortunate and were able to sell the place at a very good price and buy this one, which is smaller and while it needs some updating, isn't the money sucking project the last one was.

Since then, the average price for a similar property has risen a minimum of £50,000, in some cases as much as £100,000. And this is just the crappy West Midlands. I say crappy because apparently anything north of the Watford Gap (the invisible border about 50 miles outside of London) may as well not exist. But at least it protects us from the insanity of the London and southern counties housing market. Just about.