Generation Rent blames landlords for soaring rent prices outpacing wages

Certainly shows that selectively choosing which statistics to use can produce any result you want.

PRS rents rose 8.4% on average apparently.
Social rents rose by 7.7%. So very little difference.
One reason why PRS increases were slightly higher is because LHA was increased by around 18% in April after being frozen for several years. Those of us who house Benefit assisted tenants could finally increase rents to something a bit closer to market rent without it costing our actual tenants anything. It's still significantly lower than the amount we could charge if we evicted those tenants and re let the properties but contrary to whatever nonsense GR like to spout most of us are decent human beings who don't want to evict our tenants and have a tendency to subsidise their rent instead.

It must also be remembered minimum wage increased by around 10% this year and 10% last year. Someone working full time on minimum wage would have had a pay rise of £165 a month this year. After tax and NI that's an increase of £119 to take home pay. A single person on minimum wage is probably renting a room in an HMO or a one bed flat. Assuming rent is around £650 a month an 8.4% increase is £54 a month. That's significantly less than the pay rise.

Twomey is just a clueless, leftie moron, trying to set himself up as a renter's champion. He really has no idea how the sector works, his demands/ideas if implemented, will just make things worse for everyone as most socialist policies do. He is a LL basher pure and simple, just jumping on the socialist bandwagon to make himself look good.
If these people genuinely wanted to improve things, they would realise that it is less regulation that is needed not more, this would bring more LLs into the sector and create greater competition.
More houses & less regulation.

These sort of articles would be funny if they weren't so tragic. It's the lies, damned lies and statistics again. You can pluck a number out, which whilst truthful is also meaningless until it is taken in full context. So yes rents have gone up, but for all the reasons mentioned, ignore the reasons and you have a scapegoat. It's human nature to deny that problems are of your own making and to look for someone to blame. Like many of you, I am getting sick of it and slowly looking to offload. Over the last 3 years I have sold 3 houses and put the equity back into the business to stay afloat, yes I have continued to take my salary, but that money has gone. Used up to keep rooves over other peoples head. I'm not kicking anyone out, but as my properties become empty they will be sold. So generation rent can whinge all they like at me for high rents, but I won't be charging high rents because I won't be renting. There, that's better isn't it!

If he's upset with what's happening now, wait until the real fall out happens and rents really take off... If some one has the time, write him a letter explaining that it is unfortunate that he, along with shelter and others of their ilk, appear to share a similar warped ideology and when paired with their retarded intellect, the actions resulting therefrom actually serve to exacerbate not curtail the issues they wish to address. Write some predictions, tell him to file the letter for 12 months and re-read it. Imbeciles the bloody lot of them.

Reply to the comment left by Jo Westlake at 19/09/2024 - 10:22
I see many more LL in the future NOT housing HB/UC tenants because if what is essentially already a government rent cap (the LHA rate) AND given the way that security of tenure is going to override everything in the PRS (even with rent arrears).

This article claims London rent up 9.6% in the past year but another of today’s articles has London at 0.1%.

And Ben, I haven’t snatched anything from anyone in the 13 properties I have offloaded - and the one remaining property is still at £520 pcm, with tenants who would see you for the grandstanding clown you are if you tried your silly rhetoric on them.

There does seem to be a mission to get rid of private landlords and replace them with conglomerates building blocks of flats purely to rent out. We're all demonised from all directions yet flak is not directed towards those city companies. Close to me Legal and General (I think) has built a huge estate of 1500 units to rent out with an entry price of £2200 for a one bed and rising to over £4k for a 3 bed unit. Utilities are on top but hay ho tenants will have the use of a swimming pool and a small gym. My properties are significantly cheaper that this yet I'm the villain.

Reply to the comment left by Coastal at 19/09/2024 - 10:00
To be clear Mr Twomey. The government are the ones doing the snatching. Landlords are worse off now than they have been for some time. Your negative rhetoric is only exacerbating the issue as supply dwindles and rents spike. Time to learn some simple economics and open your eyes.

This is the key remark in this excellent article:

'According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Rental Price Index, private rents rose by 8.4% in the year to August 2024, outpacing the 5.1% increase in wage growth.'

In the light of the above, how can rises in rent be tolerable?

Reply to the comment left by Sophie Johnson at 19/09/2024 - 19:34
Sophie have you read the comments?