UK survey: 40% of respondents pay more than 50% of their incomes on rent

Probably even more if you count the commute cost. If you commute to London you can expect yearly ticket costs to be easily £5000 (that is if you can afford to buy a 12 month pass, if you do not you can pay as much as double, train pass loans are very common in the U.K.) for even a relatively short commute (Oxford or Luton to London for example). £5000 is 1&#x2F;4-1&#x2F;5th of the median salary in the U.K.<p>If there is anything more depressing than U.K. rent it&#x27;s its seasonal ticket rates:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;vt.nationalrail.co.uk&#x2F;service&#x2F;seasonticket&#x2F;search" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;vt.nationalrail.co.uk&#x2F;service&#x2F;seasonticket&#x2F;search</a>

Take the report with a grain of salt. It appears to be sourced by an investment firm with an interest in selling real estate securities. There are no details given about how their sample of 10,000 renters was created; the data also seems self reported by the renters, so I would have accuracy concerns.<p>The figure seems dubious given most landlords would balk at extending a lease to a tenant who&#x27;s major share of income would be going to rent (high credit risk).

The rent prices around the world in big cities are absolute perverse. And it will only get worse I fear. Partially due to rich foreigners and partially due to AirBNB &amp; Co. Good example there is Prague, no normal Czech citizen can afford to live there anymore, the rent prices are ridiculous even compared to some German Cities.

I&#x27;m currently converting a van to a campervan, in part to escape this money drain, in part to give me more freedom of where to live. It&#x27;s not an option for everyone but I&#x27;m glad it&#x27;s been working out so far (I should point out that wild camping is of dubious legality in many parts of the UK).<p>An alternate option is living on a boat (narrowboat, Dutch barge, etc...) on the UK canals, which even with mooring fees can be more affordable than renting.

&gt; renters across the UK spend an average of 62 per cent of their income on rent<p>&gt; 40 per cent of renters pay more than 50 per cent of their incomes on rent<p>If 60% of renters pay less than 50% of their income, that leaves an infeasibly high number of renters paying at least 80% of their income, to make an average of 62%.<p>Much as I think the high cost of housing and woeful tenancy rights are an absolute disgrace in the UK, I can&#x27;t take these figures at all seriously.

I have been kind of struggling with this question lately. As a rule of thumb, what percentage of your income would&#x2F;should be spend on rent? I can totally understand there are many variables but I&#x27;m assuming the cost of buying a new house could be one on that list.

&gt; Overall, 40 per cent of renters pay more than 50 per cent of their incomes on rent, the report found<p>This feels much more telling than the title of this article.

Couldn&#x27;t this be a predictable result of deflation in other expense categories, i.e. as &quot;stuff&quot; becomes cheaper consumers will just reallocate the savings to competitive markets where demand outstrips supply (e.g. housing near good jobs)?

Something changed in the global economic system in the 1990&#x27;s that has led to asset inflation in nearly all major global cities.<p>People buying are indebted for decades for more than 50% of their usually dual incomes and renters have equally large monthly outflows.<p>This is global economic rent seeking in action. Wealth is not used for investment as economists insist but speculation and asset inflation led by banks being the main beneficiaries. The consistency and pattern of sharp increases across global cities cannot simply be a coincidence.

The green belts need to go. Cities should be allowed to expand outwards.

Whats the breakdown between 1br&#x2F;Studios and Roommate situations?

TL:DR - We&#x27;re screwed - blame politicians on both sides.<p>This is only going to get worse because the politicians are beneficiaries.<p>One in three UK politicians are landlords:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;housing-network&#x2F;2016&#x2F;jan&#x2F;14&#x2F;mp-landlords-number-risen-quarter-last-parliament-housing-bill" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;housing-network&#x2F;2016&#x2F;jan&#x2F;14&#x2F;mp-l...</a><p>One in three UK politicians has a significant percentage of their wealth dependent on rising house prices and rising rents which is why:<p>1. Help to buy schemes increase demand but not supply therefore increasing prices.<p>2. Large scale bulk buying of properties by dirty offshore money where apartments are not being rented out hasn&#x27;t been stopped - its better to buy London property than pay for gold storage:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;society&#x2F;2014&#x2F;jan&#x2F;31&#x2F;inside-london-billionaires-row-derelict-mansions-hampstead" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;society&#x2F;2014&#x2F;jan&#x2F;31&#x2F;inside-londo...</a> <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;society&#x2F;2017&#x2F;jun&#x2F;13&#x2F;foreign-investors-snapping-up-london-homes-suitable-for-first-time-buyers" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;society&#x2F;2017&#x2F;jun&#x2F;13&#x2F;foreign-inve...</a><p>3. Train prices in London are the most expensive in the world, so many will decide to spend more on rent and have the extra hours per day back than travel and pay almost the same price once train costs are factored in:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bbc.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;uk-england-london-39806865" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bbc.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;uk-england-london-39806865</a><p>4. Increased population growth into London due to political focus on the South East - 100,000 extra per year increasing demand :<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dailymail.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;article-3834825&#x2F;London-s-population-growing-100-000-YEAR-immigration-high-birth-rate-turns-capital-megacity.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dailymail.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;article-3834825&#x2F;London-s-pop...</a><p>5. Not enough homes are being built to satisfy a single year&#x27;s needs let alone the cumulative shortage:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.telegraph.co.uk&#x2F;finance&#x2F;property&#x2F;news&#x2F;12127141&#x2F;Fewer-homes-being-built-in-London-as-UK-house-building-falls-25pc-short-of-target.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.telegraph.co.uk&#x2F;finance&#x2F;property&#x2F;news&#x2F;12127141&#x2F;Fe...</a><p>6. One in six Baby Boomers (who are the generation that has caused the property problem) intend on spending the inheritance their children could use on a deposit or buying their home, and therefore may remain renting:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dailymail.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;article-3818803&#x2F;The-baby-boomers-spending-kids-inheritance-One-six-50-70-year-olds-say-plan-use-money-die.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dailymail.co.uk&#x2F;news&#x2F;article-3818803&#x2F;The-baby-boo...</a><p>The most depressing thing is that its starting elsewhere in the UK now because people see the UK as a good place to invest, and its gone crazy in the best cities in other English speaking countries - Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto etc.