Mixed fortunes for those renting in the area
THERE were mixed fortunes for those living in rented accommodation last year, as the cost of renting rose in some parts of the area and fell in others.
Rental prices in Worthing went up three per cent from October, 2011, to September, 2012, or £226 in cash terms, despite Worthing’s average wage falling by 1.1 per cent.
In Arun, rents increased, on average, by 0.8 per cent, though wages also increased by 4.3 per cent.
However, in Adur the cost of renting improved for most people, with rental prices down by 0.3 per cent and wages up 11.3 per cent.
The figures, released last week by the housing charity Shelter, are based on Government figures and found average private rents in the South East rose by three per cent from 2011 to 2012.
The report said for those living in areas where rents were going up faster than wages there was a danger many renters would be left with too little to save for a deposit on a home of their own. A survey of 4,300 renters in England commissioned by Shelter found that in the South East more than half (54 per cent) said after paying for rent and essential bills they had just £100 or less left over each month for everything else.
Census data released last month revealed a shift towards renting over the last 10 years, showing the proportion of homes rented privately has rocketed by 69 per cent since 2001. In the same period, the proportion of homes owned with a mortgage dropped by 15 per cent, as more and more people were priced out of homeownership.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “This report reveals the huge scale of the rent trap holding back young people and families. Rising rents are leaving people with little or nothing to save at the end of each month, giving them little chance of ever saving enough to climb on to the property ladder.
“The renters we speak to have never been less hopeful. A relentless stream of rent rises means that most feel they will never move on from a life paying ‘dead money’ to landlords, in a home that they can’t make their own.
“And for some, rising rents have more immediate consequences – not enough money to spend on food, fuel or other essentials.
“Unless something changes, the chances of the next generation getting a home to call their own look increasingly bleak. The Government needs to show young people and families exactly how it plans to dismantle the rent trap for good.”
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Weather for Shoreham
Tuesday 21 May 2013
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