How much do you spend on rent?

[jayseven]

I'm sure I saw an article that said that people are spending 60% of their income on rent in some parts of the uk (London and the south east).

 

Currently I'm spending just under a third of my income on rent, but the sort of 1-bed properties I've been looking at will be about 66% of my income (after projected bills)... Now, typically most people I know house/flatshare down here in Brighton. 'Professional Couples' can, of course, afford to split rent.

 

I could instead go for a studio flat rather than a 1-bed flat, which would be less than 50% of my income and perhaps allow me to save up for a theoretical mortgage one day... but the difference between the two price brackets is insane. I am literally getting depressed just looking at the pictures of the cheaper places...

 

So yeah - what percentage of your income goes on rent?

[Cube]

I have a 1 bedroom flat just outside Manchester. Rent, bills (electric/gas/water - I haven't counted internet and mobile) and council tax uses up around 35% of my income.

[Emma]

When I lived alone in a 2 bed flat, about 35-40% went on rent, then that halved when Dan got a job and I got paid more.

 

Place where we live now is cheaper at £525 a month for a three bed unfurnished, which is pretty good. I don't pay rent as I'm not earning enough on supply at the moment. I'd say Dan puts about 45% of his wage towards rent.

 

Edit: as soon as money situation improves, we're saving up for a mortgage deposit! Fed up of renting now.

[Ashley]

I currently spend about 80% on rent, but that's because I'm living in reasonably swanky digs and I'm working part-time. When I go back to full-time it will be around 35%.

 

The other 40% of my current wages goes on socialising. I'm basically one of the Real Housewives.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Ashley

[bob]

Well mine's a bit complicated because my fiancee pays some of it, but she doesn't have a very big income. I.e. she pays a very large proportion of her income, and I pay about 19% of mine, but i pay all the bills and for most of the food etc.

 

If we add up our incomes though, we pay about 23%.

 

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[Sheikah]

I pay 19% of my income on rent which also includes all utilities. I don't pay council tax (student perk) but the cost of travel into London each day is horrendous.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Brighton is extortionate for rent, brah. London prices for everything. I'm currently paying about 40% of my monies on rent, but Ine sorts out the bills. So, she does the council tax, food and bills when they come (quarterly for electric, twice a year for water and sewage). I get the car stuff, so insurance and petrol. We've got a good system for all of that, pretty fair I think.

 

One of my friends in London lives somewhere near London Bridge and pays about £1400 a month in rent...which is fucking insane. I didn't dare ask him how much he was earning, though.

[Ganepark32]

Without bills, I'm spending 53% of my income each month (£580) on rent for a two bed penthouse flat in Dundee which is a lot but the price of two bed flats in Dundee is ridiculous given the city (given some of the two bed flats I've seen which are smaller than mine by a big margin but are still around the £530 mark and going up!!!). Still, the flat was recently decorated, came fully furnished and is worth a damn sight more rent-wise than I'm paying. Landlord really low-balled the rent so I can't complain too much.

 

With bills (excluding council tax because I'm a student), it's 62% before getting food and stuff sorted so 5 week months are a bit tight but I manage just thanks to being relatively good with my money (a Scot being tightfisted with his money... who would have thought ).

[Goafer]

Edit: as soon as money situation improves, we're saving up for a mortgage deposit! Fed up of renting now.

 

Round here, rent is pretty much the same as we'd be paying for a mortgage, so me and the other half are saving for a deposit instead of moving into a rental place. Seems silly to "waste" money on rent when it could be paying off a house we'd actually own.

 

We're pretty lucky as we're in the perfect situation to save for a deposit. We're both living with my parents (not great, but cheap), she somehow managed to leave uni with a tonne of savings and I have savings of my own.

 

With the 5% mortgages that are available at the moment and the various first time buyers schemes, we could probably buy a house now, but we're trying to save for a decent percentage of the property. The more we save now, the less we have to pay back/interest. Think we're aiming to save up about £15k before we start looking. We're at about £7k-£8k now and putting decent amounts away each month (even more so when she finds a job).

[MoogleViper]

If I wanted a 1 bed flat it would be about 55-60% of my wages, ~70-75% of my net income, and I'm on a reasonably good wage. I'm currently paying £390 (no bills included) for a bedroom in a house share, ~20% of my income.

 

I hate Oxford.

[Goafer]

If I wanted a 1 bed flat it would be about 55-60% of my wages, ~70-75% of my net income, and I'm on a reasonably good wage. I'm currently paying £390 (no bills included) for a bedroom in a house share, ~20% of my income.

 

I hate Oxford.

 

Are you actually in Oxford or are you in the surrounding area? We've been looking into Oxford and the prices are silly in the actual town. Kidlington isn't too bad and you could probably walk into Oxford if you had to (definitely doable on a bicycle). Failing that the buses run between there pretty regularly, or you could definitely walk to the park and ride.

[Shorty]

Our rent is pretty good. We're going through very basic channels with a landlord who's a friend of a friend, letting out their own second house, rather than doing it as a business. She includes water and council tax in the bill, and even with that, after splitting the cost down the middle with my fiancée, it's only about 25% of my income.

 

I can't imagine burning away 50%+ of my income on rent. On a mortgage maybe, if the remaining % wage was good for an enjoyable life, but as dead money? No thanks.

 

Edit: I should mention that this is for a 3 bedroom terrace with a basement and a garden.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Shorty

[ReZourceman]

Approximately 40%ish. Rent is £765 (half each) and council tax is £180 which seems a bit extortionate. Its a new build 2 bedroom flat.

[MoogleViper]

Are you actually in Oxford or are you in the surrounding area? We've been looking into Oxford and the prices are silly in the actual town. Kidlington isn't too bad and you could probably walk into Oxford if you had to (definitely doable on a bicycle). Failing that the buses run between there pretty regularly, or you could definitely walk to the park and ride.

 

I live in Cowley (just inside the ring road). Not much point living in Oxford, IMO. Way too expensive (surrounding areas are bad enough, but vastly better) and I don't see the appeal. Osney is a good bet it you aren't after night life. Cowley is better if you want some night life. Iffley if you want something in between (next to Cowley). All of them are in walking distance from the centre.

 

I'm not sure I'd class Kidlington as walking distance. You're ~5 miles from the centre.

[Goafer]

I'm not sure I'd class Kidlington as walking distance. You're ~5 miles from the centre.

 

I've walked from the city centre to the Water Eaton park and ride before. Kidlington is just a little bit further. I'm not saying it's doable every day, but once in a while wouldn't be too bad. Cycling it would be a piece of piss, especially with all the cycle paths.

 

I've cycled Banbury to Oxford before and the Kidlington to Oxford part seemed very insignificant to the point that if I lived in Kidlington and worked in Oxford, I'd consider cycling much preferable to driving.

 

I'm not entirely sure what my point is anymore...

 

Oh yeah,

 

[Rummy]

I'm sure I saw an article that said that people are spending 60% of their income on rent in some parts of the uk (London and the south east).

 

Aaaaaaand...I'm still living at home.

 

Cheaper to get a mortgage than rent round here probably, though like everywhere there's your cheaper areas if you really wanted to. Looking maybe £350 minimum for a room, but that's in a share etc. Maybe £600 minimum for a a whole single bedroom place, easily going up higher than that by a hundred or two(all source from some quick zoopla'ing research).

[Charlie]

My rent is very cheap. It is about 16% of my salary which is great. Council tax is £75 per month each (3 bed flat) and bills around generally £30 per month each.

 

Very cheap flat but its still great.

[Jon]

Unless you know someone, you'd have to be extremely lucky to get a one bedroom flat round here for £500. Going rate is usually at least £650.

[arab_freak]

Fifteen Egyptian Pounds every month, which hasn't changed since my family moved into this 120 square-meter apartment in the 70's.

 

If you don't see why that's significant, check how much 15 EGP costs in your local currency.

[jayseven]

Rummy hits it. Basically I'm looking at paying £800 a month for a decent 1-bed property. For sure, houseshares bring this down - you can look at around £500 a month if you share a 3-bed. 2 bedroom properties are £1,100 for shit and £1,250 for something decent... mortgages are definitely a lot cheaper, with many people I know paying £600ish a month for what would be a £900 rental. Of course saving up the deposit for such a mortgage takes time, but there are so many other factors in staying where I am that make me really, really consider paying double the amount for full freedom.

 

There are a lot of other options, if I look at more distance. A matter of looking at 10 miles away I can get a 2 bed house for the same price (if not cheaper), but I'd be sacrificing social life massively. Personally I have to factor in my eyesight issues, especially with travelling in the dark - I am entitled to (but yet to claim) on a few benefits that will help with this -- a reduced tax rate and a free bus pass, for example... But it's still fascinating to see what people in other parts of the country would consider to be acceptable.

[Ellmeister]

I pay 20% and I'm living at home!

[nightwolf]

I currently pay £375 for two bedrooms in a 3 bedroom house.

 

Mostly the house is taken up by my flatmate and her dogs, which is why I get the two bedrooms and she mostly gets the downstairs, its a nice system (I mostly spend my time at my computer away from things) and we pay equal parts rent.

 

We're incredibly lucky, my rent for that much space isn't heard of in Cambridge unless you're sharing with a lot of people.

 

If I wanted my own place, we're talking £600 without bills, thats over 50% of my rent, with bills and my car, I'd be paying closer to what Ashley does and I just cannot afford that.

 

It makes me sad that the kind of money I could put into renting and bills right now could get me a pretty decent 1-2 bed flat 100 miles north. That sort of thing eats away at me every time I pay my rent. Given my landlady isn't the best one around and currently cannot even be bothered to change our damn door thats had a hole in it for 6 months. ¬_¬

[MoogleViper]

It makes me sad that the kind of money I could put into renting and bills right now could get me a pretty decent 1-2 bed flat 100 miles north. That sort of thing eats away at me every time I pay my rent.

 

I know that feeling all too well.

 

Taking into account tax benefits, I could drop ~4k of my salary and move back around home, and I'd be no worse off. Or pay the same amount and live in an amazing flat/house.

 

The 2+1 bed terraced house opposite my sister is cheaper to rent than my current room in a house share.

[Rummy]

Rummy hits it. Basically I'm looking at paying £800 a month for a decent 1-bed property. For sure, houseshares bring this down - you can look at around £500 a month if you share a 3-bed. 2 bedroom properties are £1,100 for shit and £1,250 for something decent... mortgages are definitely a lot cheaper, with many people I know paying £600ish a month for what would be a £900 rental. Of course saving up the deposit for such a mortgage takes time, but there are so many other factors in staying where I am that make me really, really consider paying double the amount for full freedom.

 

There are a lot of other options, if I look at more distance. A matter of looking at 10 miles away I can get a 2 bed house for the same price (if not cheaper), but I'd be sacrificing social life massively. Personally I have to factor in my eyesight issues, especially with travelling in the dark - I am entitled to (but yet to claim) on a few benefits that will help with this -- a reduced tax rate and a free bus pass, for example... But it's still fascinating to see what people in other parts of the country would consider to be acceptable.

 

Because of this, I'm trying to get one.

 

However would you believe the bank who previously gave me a mortgage offer has now turned around this morning to tell me they don't lend to my kind and don't know how/why they did in the first place. Hopes and dreams shattered and crushed. House buying is definitely a lot more shitty in the effort(physical, time, emotional) department.

[MoogleViper]

Because of this, I'm trying to get one.

 

However would you believe the bank who previously gave me a mortgage offer has now turned around this morning to tell me they don't lend to my kind and don't know how/why they did in the first place. Hopes and dreams shattered and crushed. House buying is definitely a lot more shitty in the effort(physical, time, emotional) department.

 

I imagine that sounds a lot worse than it is.