Britain's cost-of-renting crisis
Saeed Pourreza
Press TV, London
Britain is facing a renting crisis: a combination of soaring demand and a shrinking market has sent rents over the roof.
More than 3.5 million people in England alone have had their rent raised in the past year by unaffordable amounts. And according to one property site, a single person spends more than a third of their income on rent, and that is before council tax, gas, electricity and water bills.
The price of a month's worth of rent in the British capital has soared by an average of more than 16 percent over the past year, with the average rent price reaching a record 2,910 dollars a month, the highest in the country. In Manchester it's gone up by more than 20 percent and in Birmingham by over 17 percent.
Alex, who asked not to be identified, shared a house in West London with his partner and another couple for two years but had to move when the rent skyrocketed.
Property experts say higher mortgage interest rates and taxation are forcing landlords to either increase the rent or withdraw their properties from the market, sending renters fighting over available properties.
But what is the reason behind the increase in demand? A housing deficit is one reason. Britain has a backlog of 4.3 million homes that are missing from the national housing market as they were never built. Another is a rise in net migration
Calls for a rent freeze are growing, but that is yet to happen. And pressures on the rental market are not expected to ease any time soon.
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