Tag: rent costs

‘Deeply Disturbing’: Boyack slams Scottish Government for failing the Lothians over housing crisis

Lothian MSP Sarah Boyack has slammed the Scottish Government as new statistics have revealed just how stark the current housing crisis gripping the Lothians is.

The Private Rent Statistics Scotland report, published by the Scottish Government, reveal that rents in the Lothian have seen the highest above inflation increases in rent for two bed properties of any area in Scotland.

The situation is equally alarming for one bed properties, with Lothian rents increasing by 14.4% in 12 months, compared with only a 0.3% increase in Greater Glasgow.

This has left Lothian with the highest average monthly rent for one bed flats anywhere in Scotland.

The same is true for 2 beds with the average rent in Lothian being £1358, the highest in the country.

The average rent across Lothian has increased almost 100% from 2010, from £520 to £1013 over the period.

The crisis prompted Edinburgh Council to declare a housing emergency in November 2023 highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the capital.

East Lothian Council declared an affordable housing emergency on the 12th of November this year after it was revealed they were likely to lose over 1200 affordable houses over the next five years.

Commenting on these stats, Sarah Boyack MSP said: “These figures are deeply disturbing but entirely unsurprising. Any tenant in Edinburgh is aware of just how much rents have spiralled out of control.

“I have been raising constantly with the Scottish Government about the state of the housing crisis in Edinburgh and the wider Lothians. I hope these statistics snap them out of their apathy.

“Edinburgh Council desperately needs more funding if we are ever to get on top of this problem.

“The Scottish Government must finally act and work with councils across Lothian if we are to finally start addressing this housing emergency rather than letting it escalate.”

Over 80% of renters already rent burdened as cost of living set to soar

New data reveals the shocking amount of money being spent on rent every month, on top of drastic cost of living increases set for April

  • Over 80% of renters are spending more than 30% of their take home pay on rent every month, with women hit the hardest
  • Almost one in three (29%) are spending more than 50% of their monthly pay on rent
  • Over 85% of women spend more than 30% of their income on rent, 10% more than their male counterparts
  • 59% of renters don’t believe their rent is affordable

New data by flatshare site SpareRoom reveals the shocking amount of money being spent on rent every month, with over 80% of renters spending more than 30% of their take home pay on rent, and almost one in three (29%) handing over more than 50% of their pay.

People spending more than 30% of their household income on rent are traditionally considered ‘rent burdened’, those who spend over 50% are considered ‘severely rent burdened’. SpareRoom’s data shows the majority of renters are currently ‘rent burdened’. This means many will already have difficulties affording necessities including food, transport and medical care on top of rent, not to mention finding money for increases in living costs come spring.  

With increased energy bills and national insurance costs looming, women are most likely to feel the pinch, with over 85% spending 30% or more of their income on rent, compared to 75% of men, highlighting the affordability gap between men and women.  

Unsurprisingly the data showed people in London, South East and South West England are spending more of their take home pay on rent than in other regions – 84% of Londoners, 83% of South East and 82% of South West spend over 30% of their salary on rent*.

The pandemic saw rents drop in London and increase everywhere else, but recent data from SpareRoom’s Rental Index now shows the capital’s rents are back on the up, which will no doubt cause more of an affordability issue for Londoners.

Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom director comments: “The general rule of thumb for affordability has always been that you should spend around 30% of your income on rent.

“Even before the pandemic hit that definition felt outdated, but we’re about to see people’s financial situations hit hard over the coming months and years. With over 80% of the UK already rent burdened, and almost a third spending over half of their salary on rent, people are already feeling the squeeze.

“Although wages are rising, they aren’t growing fast enough to make up for cost of living increases that are rising at their fastest pace for 30 years**. This doesn’t just affect renters, it also makes life difficult for the huge numbers of young people who moved back home to their family over the course of the pandemic, not to mention those who were already there.”  

Survey conducted by SpareRoom in January 2022 with 11,130 respondents

* What % of your monthly take home pay goes on rent?

RegionOver 30% of salary on rentOver 50% of salary on rent
East Anglia80%29%
East Midlands73%25%
North East65%17%
North West74%24%
Northern Ireland52%13%
Scotland73%30%
South East83%32%
South West82%31%
Wales75%28%
West Midlands73%26%
Yorkshire and Humberside69%21%
London84%30%

** https://www.independent.co.uk/news/consumer-prices-inflation-london-rishi-sunak-jonathan-reynolds-b1996254.html