Renters: how much of your net income do you pay for the roof over your head?

[Mation]

I rent in a houseshare and have been very fortunate to have had no increase for several years, but the landlord has now notified us that the rent will go up starting next month, due to the rise in the cost of living. It's inclusive of bills: gas, electricity, water, council tax and internet.

Currently, I pay 42% of my net income on rent+bills, which I think is probably really good for London, but with the increase, it will jump to 59%. I can probably just about manage it, but with nothing left at the end of the month. I don't want to move, and couldn't manage to soon, anyway, so I'm probably going to have to suck it up if I can't negotiate a bit less

What proportion of your income do you have to spend on rent (or mortgage)? And with utilities? Almost 60% seems like fucktonnes to me, but is it unusually high for the times (wherever you are)?

 

[andysays]

I have a council flat, so pay way below "market rent".

My rent is 23% of my income; when you add in all utilities it's 45%.

 

[blairsh]

Without looking at paperwork about 42%, i live in the north of England and have a mortgage (and that percentage is based on a recently renewed, fixed rate which is the most i've ever payed in a decade)

 

[Elpenor]

When I was renting last year rent + bills took up approx 65-70%. I did dip into savings a bit and liquidated a lot of non-cash assets like approx £1k of Avios and nectar points to make ends meet

Now I pay a mortgage which is approx 20% of my net pay depending on how much overtime I do. Once I’ve thrown in bills that’s approx 40%

As a low earner I’m being hit badly by the fiscal drag as the personal allowance is frozen year on year

 

[Looby]

I haven’t worked out what it is with utilities, council tax etc but my half of our rent is a small proportion of my income. 15%.

That’s a low rent and not a high salary though.

 

[JimW]

It's relatively low here out in the very rural part of Beijing but there is a noticeable rise as people follow us out to the country and the market starts to get as silly as downtown. We had a real bargain at our old place and while it's double that here it's still only around ten percent of our income.

 

[Mation]

I have a council flat, so pay way below "market rent".

My rent is 23% of my income; when you add in all utilities it's 45%.

That makes me feel sort of lucky, I guess. Looking around at what else is comparable and available now, I'm still going to be paying a bit less than market rent, even after the increase. He is apparently giving me a discount as I've been a 'good tenant' for ages.

Think I'm going to lose most of my housemates, though And that also makes me wonder who is going to (be able to afford to) move in, as, presumably, anyone new will get the full whack.

When I was renting last year rent + bills took up approx 65-70%. I did dip into savings a bit and liquidated a lot of non-cash assets like approx £1k of Avios and nectar points to make ends meet

Wow, that's a huge amount. Glad it's less now! I was having to dip into my not-very-substantial savings, too, before a small pay rise last year. Will perhaps have to do so again.

 

[existentialist]

Round about 25% - I'm very lucky.

 

[Joe Chi Min]

Our rent doubled last year, but it was pretty low to begin with; though we did have to put a substantial deposit down.

 

[Aladdin]

I am on half pay now for the past 2 months. . One third of that goes on my shared mortgage. I pay for all groceries (a bit less than another third of my current wages per month) at my parents where I am staying mostly as they need help. The rest of my current pay goes on meds, drs, a small car loan plus I put something into the pot to help with energy bills in the parents home. Basically zero left after that.

Eta ..I am not that upset ...so no sad emojis I'll be on this til autumn but after that I expect to go on trr and will have the equivalent of the pension.
Not worrying too much. I am managing so far.

 

[Mation]

I am on half pay now for the past 2 months. . One third of that goes on my shared mortgage. I pay for all groceries (a bit less than another third of my current wages per month) at my parents where I am staying mostly as they need help. The rest of my current pay goes on meds, drs, a small car loan plus I put something into the pot to help with energy bills in the parents home. Basically zero left after that.

Eta ..I am not that upset ...so no sad emojis I'll be on this til autumn but after that I expect to go on trr and will have the equivalent of the pension.
Not worrying too much. I am managing so far.

Sorry, only saw the no sad emojis bit after the sad emoji! Good to hear you're managing

 

[weepiper]

33% just on rent. Including the other stuff you've mentioned above it's 46%. I get Universal Credit and Child Benefit and the Scottish Child Payment as well as my wages so I've calculated including that. If I didn't get those then I'd have less than a hundred quid a month left to feed and clothe us all!

 

[newme]

About 10% excluding utilities for a 3 bed, front and back wraparound gardens, 2 parking spaces off road. Agricultural for 50 years behind, 5 minutes from everything in the village. Could walk and get almost everything. Delivery also cheap and easy. Nursery, primary and bus to secondary 30 seconds away. Council house tho, so best hope at buying it is right to buy, which annoys and gives me hope of ownership, that plus inheritance + over average salary means I could pay about the same as I do now for a 10 year mortgage. We did LHA allowance housing, JSA and the rest for 3 years, it was awful. I sold things on the side, we hads everything second hand and cooked every single meal. Apart from scale, side work and being in the passing on things stage instead of receiving not much has changed. Motorbike still not on the road, fence fell down, no deck, no shed. I can't get over not having to do all myself so I am not. Useful for kids emergency fund but otherwise I am waiting on a mortgage interest rate reduction/house being devalued.

 

[JoeyBoy]

About 30-35%ish, utility bills would push it to over 50%. I have no commute costs since I walk to work and most other places as well. I've no place to store a bike. I do have a parking space but can't afford a car though I can drive.
I manage to live just about on what I earn. I've no significant debts and before the energy prices went mental I could afford to save a bit each month but not anymore. I've got well under a grand in savings and it wouldn't take much to wipe me out financially.

 

[Flavour]

I voted according to my last rental place before buying a house. I was paying 35% of my monthly salary in rent, excluding bills, and something around 45% with bills included. Now I have a mortgage I am paying 22% excluding bills, and around 30% including bills

 

[Lurdan]

Council tenant (bedsit) on state pension (this year that's £264 weekly). Rent, council tax and water rates take up 46% of that.

 

[newme]

Council tenant (bedsit) on state pension (this year that's £264 weekly). Rent, council tax and water rates take up 46% of that.

It's 264? Is that with additionals added as I am seeing something like 184 as my retired number which isn't any time soon.

 

[Lurdan]

It's 264? Is that with additionals added as I am seeing something like 184 as my retired number which isn't any time soon.

The so-called flat rate pension this year is £203.85 for those who have the full 35 years contributions. I was contracted into SERPS/SSP when they were still going (1978-2016) and get what's called a 'protected payment' of £60, which supposedly represents what I would have got under those schemes.

 

[mentalchik]

HA flat, rent = 39% add in council tax and utilities and it rises to 62%

 

[poppy60]

I pay £100 per week in rent for a two bedroom house,My gas and electric have gone up to £240 a month,Telephone around £30 month,not to mention insurance whats left goes on food,Mr poppy has a part time job and I am on universal credit.Not a lot to have fun with.

 

[ska invita]

Bump




Something I've seen in the press is landlords and economists saying buy to let dorsnt make financial sense, and some landlords are even selling up...


...I get that interest rates have gone up but rents are so expensive and demand is huge, so how can it not be profitable?

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Bump

View attachment 390299


Something I've seen in the press is landlords and economists saying buy to let dorsnt make financial sense, and some landlords are even selling up...


...I get that interest rates have gone up but rents are so expensive and demand is huge, so how can it not be profitable?

Lots of people had buy to let mortgages which they expected to make a profit from whilst gaining equity. They were hit hardest.

 

[Brainaddict]

Bump

View attachment 390299


Something I've seen in the press is landlords and economists saying buy to let dorsnt make financial sense, and some landlords are even selling up...


...I get that interest rates have gone up but rents are so expensive and demand is huge, so how can it not be profitable?

The landlords selling up are bad businesspeople. They expected all their profit to come from ever-rising house prices. Overall it doesn't seem there is a drop in rentable properties, or not significant, so those landlords are just being bought out by people who are better at understanding the business and how to make money from it. So the answer is - it still is profitable, just not if you made stupid business decisions.

I expect we'll see some consolidation among landlords for a few years. Those who can buy in cash in particular are unaffected by the interest rate problem so will be making hay.

 

[bellaozzydog]

Bump

View attachment 390299


Something I've seen in the press is landlords and economists saying buy to let dorsnt make financial sense, and some landlords are even selling up...


...I get that interest rates have gone up but rents are so expensive and demand is huge, so how can it not be profitable?

The insane BTL model is. 25% Deposit on property, pay interest only payments and smash the tenants for as much as possible to profit on the gap between rent and mortgage.

Once BTL LL has chiselled another deposits worth of surplus rent off tenants put a deposit on another property

The model fails when mortgage payments jumped and now shit loads of BTL landlords “own” properties that cost more in mortgage than they can charge rent. It’s costing them money and they have no cash flow as it’s only tenants generating the money, in reality they own nothing and potentially will lose their property and deposit

The land Lord losers are the amateur ones lured into the model who needed to rinse tenants the hardest, and have most to lose

 

[JoeyBoy]

None of the landlords I've had or met make much profit on renting out houses, they've all had jobs and done it as a sideline including my current twat who has about three dozen but hasn't given up his job to live off the fat of the land. Buying a house to rent out isn't a source of income it's an investment, make the money back big time when they sell it.
As well as rising interest rates a lot of them seemed to be worried about these new EPC regulations that require them to make their properties more energy efficient. His twatness is selling off several of his that won't meet the regulations on the grounds that it isn't worth his while to spend thousands of pounds on them just to reduce his tenants energy bills for them.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

The landlords selling up are bad businesspeople. They expected all their profit to come from ever-rising house prices. Overall it doesn't seem there is a drop in rentable properties, or not significant, so those landlords are just being bought out by people who are better at understanding the business and how to make money from it. So the answer is - it still is profitable, just not if you made stupid business decisions.

I expect we'll see some consolidation among landlords for a few years. Those who can buy in cash in particular are unaffected by the interest rate problem so will be making hay.

Yes. It's absolutely correct that tenants have more protection against being evicted, but those who only had a couple couldn't afford for someone not to pay rent for 6 months or longer. If you have more properties you can offset this.

 

[baldrick]

Bump

View attachment 390299


Something I've seen in the press is landlords and economists saying buy to let dorsnt make financial sense, and some landlords are even selling up...


...I get that interest rates have gone up but rents are so expensive and demand is huge, so how can it not be profitable?

I don't know where they are getting those figures from. I lived in Birmingham until last week and have 4 friends whose landlords are selling up. All have had to downsize significantly. For example one friend from a 2 bed house to a 1 bed flat (£850 pm), one friend from a 1 bed flat to becoming a lodger (£600 pm). And those are on the cheaper end of the market, though not the absolute cheapest. You can easily spend >£1000 on a 1 bed now. The rental market is totally fucked.

 

[ska invita]

, in reality they own nothing and potentially will lose their property and deposit

If the mortgage has been being paid for ten years say, and they sell up, wont they then make that ten years worth of profit? They'll pay off the mortgage less the ten years they've already paid?

 

[SpookyFrank]

The insane BTL model is. 25% Deposit on property, pay interest only payments and smash the tenants for as much as possible to profit on the gap between rent and mortgage.

Once BTL LL has chiselled another deposits worth of surplus rent off tenants put a deposit on another property

The model fails when mortgage payments jumped and now shit loads of BTL landlords “own” properties that cost more in mortgage than they can charge rent. It’s costing them money and they have no cash flow as it’s only tenants generating the money, in reality they own nothing and potentially will lose their property and deposit

The land Lord losers are the amateur ones lured into the model who needed to rinse tenants the hardest, and have most to lose

The people who keep daisy-chaining mortgage after mortgage to buy new BTL properties despite never coming close to paying off the ones they've got are idiots. Massively over exposed to a fall or even slowdown in house prices. Trouble is the stupider and greedier the landlord, the more tennants end up living in 'their' houses and more people at risk of arbitrary eviction etc.

 

[StoneRoad]

Think the rule should be that if a BTL landlord want's to sell a property a) the tenant must get "first refusal" with the rent previously paid to count as the "deposit" and b) even if the tenant refuses [or can't buy] then their right to live there is not affected by the change in ownership ie the old landlord can't evict to get "vacant possession"