Crazy rental prices

[Kendo]

31 minutes ago, Wight Flight said:

It is gross. Your income needs to be 2.5x the annual rental. I don't think the landlord can get insurance otherwise.

Until last year it was 3x, but they reduced it so that they could put the rents up.

Yes, definitely gross. Several years back I paid £975 to rent a two-bed cottage as a single bloke, and I was earning £32k at the time. Lived pretty frugally for a couple of years on sardine salads, even though I had savings to fall back on. Actually, despite my savings I still needed a guarantor for the rent, and when I suggested I should be able to be my own guarantor, the agent told me they can’t consider savings (only income) because that’s my own money and I might go and spend it on buying a house! 🥸 It’s the same, of course, with mortgages, where the banks don’t care about your savings, even though there’s nothing stopping me spending all my monthly employment income on other things besides a mortgage. While I get the need for risk to be balanced against regular income, it’s still a bit absurd when you think about it.

[Wight Flight]

27 minutes ago, Kendo said:

Yes, definitely gross. Several years back I paid £975 to rent a two-bed cottage as a single bloke, and I was earning £32k at the time. Lived pretty frugally for a couple of years on sardine salads, even though I had savings to fall back on. Actually, despite my savings I still needed a guarantor for the rent, and when I suggested I should be able to be my own guarantor, the agent told me they can’t consider savings (only income) because that’s my own money and I might go and spend it on buying a house! 🥸 It’s the same, of course, with mortgages, where the banks don’t care about your savings, even though there’s nothing stopping me spending all my monthly employment income on other things besides a mortgage. While I get the need for risk to be balanced against regular income, it’s still a bit absurd when you think about it.

Ours just ask you to pay 12 months up front.

[Kendo]

8 minutes ago, Wight Flight said:

Ours just ask you to pay 12 months up front.

Yes, that’s what I did in the end, slightly reluctantly.

[Democorruptcy]

1 hour ago, Wight Flight said:

It is gross. Your income needs to be 2.5x the annual rental. I don't think the landlord can get insurance otherwise.

Until last year it was 3x, but they reduced it so that they could put the rents up.

That's correct to the penny on that £21k salary for the £700 a month rental.