‘It’s a total disaster!’ How soaring rents, cutthroat competition and unscrupulous landlords are breaking tenants

theguardian.com:

Katharine had been renting in London for nearly two decades, almost all her adult life, when she lost her job last year. No longer able to afford £900 a month to rent her one-bedroom flat in Crystal Palace, she relocated to Stratford-upon-Avon.

But she missed the capital. “I’m a Londoner through and through,” says Katharine, 40. “Coming back was a matter of when, rather than if.”

This spring Katharine got a new job and started making moves to return. But any hopes of a triumphant homecoming were quickly punctured. She soon discovered that the sum she had budgeted for a one-bedroom flat well outside the city centre got her much less than it did 12 months ago – if it got her anything at all.

The cheapest properties she could find cost more than £1,000 a month, about £150 above her price range. Those that were listed for less were snapped up, regardless of quality.

Several times Katharine made the five-hour round trip from Stratford to London for viewings, only to find that the flat had already been let – or was being fiercely contested. “There were literally queues outside,” she says. After three months she realised that she could not afford to wait for a flat that she liked; she would have to chase whatever she could afford. “I was desperate,” she says.

Renters are used to having to make compromises between what’s available and what’s affordable, what will suit for now and what to aspire to. This summer, however, tenants looking for a new home are finding it increasingly difficult.

A shortage of housing and a rise in demand have driven up prices – and not just in London. The Office for National Statistics says that rents increased by 3.2% across the UK in the past year, the fastest rate since the financial crisis.

Dan Wilson