My letting agent just sent me this...

[weepiper]

Sorry, sheo that's shitty behaviour. It's not just Brighton, to everyone expressing surprise at that cost - we rent a 3 bedroom flat in Edinburgh for £1100 a month. There's literally nothing available for less than £1300 a month within a 2 mile radius. I really want to keep my youngest in his current school in order to avoid having kids in separate high schools (I'm not moving the big two, full stop) so we're stuck with it. I live in fear of the landlord deciding to do something like this because we're on a joint income of £26k with 3 kids living here half of the time and the rent is already half of that. There's literally no wriggle room.

 

[zora]

I'm also a bit surprised at the amount of people expressing surprise at this. The 30% rent increase from one contract to the next became sadly very common in South London a few years ago when the formerly affordable-ish areas of Streatham/Tulse Hill/West Norwood saw these huge rent hikes. In many cases with zero regard to tenants already in the property, with landlords confident that they'd be utterly replacable.

Having said that, in a place I lived in for a while, we had some success of negotiating the standard proposal of a 10% rent increase each year down to something more like 3 and 5%.
This was just by saying something along the lines of "We would like to renew our contract, however we were disappointed to see that you are proposing a rent increase of x. We would find an increase of y in line with inflation more reasonable."

It is so fucking shit and infuriating though, I really feel for anyone going through this, especially the families with young children and school and other community ties. In my case I have just had to haul myself and my bedroom's worth full of stuff from shared house to shared house, and that's stressful and unsettling enough!

 

[Slo-mo]

Brighton sounds an awful place to rent- rents nearly as high as London with wages nowhere near as good.

 

[Gromit]

Brighton sounds an awful place to rent- rents nearly as high as London with wages nowhere near as good.

Because many commute to London for work and it's seaside.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Brighton sounds an awful place to rent- rents nearly as high as London with wages nowhere near as good.

But it makes up for that stuff by being stuffed to the gunwales with smug twats.

 

[cupid_stunt]

But it makes up for that stuff by being stuffed to the gunwales with smug twats.

Yep, so many rich Londoners have moved down.

 

[Teaboy]

I hear the general area is infested with small business owners who used to live in South London.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I hear the general area is infested with small business owners who used to live in South London.

Is that directed at me?

Because, if so - (a) I don't live in Brighton, and (b) I am not from south London.

 

[Teaboy]

Is that directed at me?

Because, if so - (a) I don't live in Brighton, and (b) I am not from south London.

T'was intended as a joke. General Area = South Coast. South London = Clapham.

 

[weltweit]

My last landlord and letting agent were the same, and the prices just went up and up, as did their fees, every year. Eventually I moved, here the rent is much more reasonable.

I was paying £995pcm for a nominally 3 bed (actually 2 bed plus box room) and they wanted to put it up (again). I gave notice. The landlord redecorated, put a new kitchen and bathroom and rented it for £1,350pcm. Last Sunday I drove past it and there was an Audi cabriolet parked outside.

 

[cupid_stunt]

T'was intended as a joke. General Area = South Coast. South London = Clapham.

I assumed it was a joke, but when I was 'claphamboy' that was reference to 'the man on the Clapham omnibus', not Clapham as such, I am a cockney by birth, proper East London, although moved out when I was 5.

The saying around here is - London has moved to Brighton, Brighton is moving to Worthing, which frankly has improved the place over the last few years.

 

[StoneRoad]

I really do sympathise with people caught in the housing trap(s) - it is quite horrible that such a vital thing has to be provided for at such a high price, just to make large profits for a few private individuals. I'll avoid commenting on the rules about young people and shared accommodation, other than to say the policies are a disgrace for a country that calls itself civilised. It is even worse that trying to buy somewhere affordable is almost impossible in many areas.

 

[sheothebudworths]

I've stopped crying now and I'm packing.

 

[8115]

I didn't realise you were moving sheothebudworths I'm really sorry. I hope the move is stress free and smooth and you end up with somewhere lovely.

*shakes fist at landlords*

 

[Thimble Queen]

Big hugs to you sheothebudworths

 

[Treacle Toes]

I've stopped crying now and I'm packing.

Uff. Big hugs to you.

 

[kittyP]

((((Sheo)))) xxx

 

[Edie]

I've stopped crying now and I'm packing.

God this is so shit

 

[Sue]

Bastards.

((sheothebudworths))

 

[weltweit]

I've stopped crying now and I'm packing.

I hope you found somewhere with a more reasonable rent.

 

[wayward bob]

I've stopped crying now and I'm packing.

oh no

 

[cupid_stunt]

I've stopped crying now and I'm packing.

Bugger, sorry to here that.

Hope everything works of well for you.

 

[crossthebreeze]

That's really shit. Big hugs to you (((sheothebudworths )))

 

[equationgirl]

Hope you find somewhere decent to move to sheothebudworths I've had landlords serve eviction papers on me because they want put the rent up a ridiculous amount or to sell the property. It sucks. There really should be a law against this sort of behaviour.

 

[weepiper]

Oh sheo

 

[extra dry]

Good luck. I hope you found somewhere.

 

[Voley]

How fucking shit is this? Hope you find somewhere more reasonable, sheo.

 

[wtfftw]

Ugh mate. What utter wankers.

 

[Miss-Shelf]

It's become reasonable to do this to people. Reasonable to need to charge the most you can cos, you know, the market tells you too. You'd almost think we had a government made up of landlords who changed policy to suit their needs. You'd almost think that we had a government who benefitted from keeping people anxious and afraid of loosing their home.

I really hope Sheo that your move goes as smooth as it can and that you keep your boy with you

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Sorry to hear of your housing woes, Sheo, hope you find somewhere else soon. x