The first thing that Fran mentioned in the interview with
Acne Paper was her huge rent. And this is something I have a deep and personal
issue with.
I came to London over seven years ago and since then I
managed to put myself through university and get a grown up person’s job in
line with my degree. Has my life changed? Not as much as I hoped for.
When I first got here (2005) an average price for a
single/double bedroom was roughly £400-£450 a month. That to me seemed a bit
steep. Especially because at the time I was only able to get work at a minimum
wage – like a shop assistant at Topshop. I think it paid £5.75 an hour, but to
be on the safe side let’s say it was £5.95. It definitely wasn’t a figure
starting with six, because I remember very well my first promotion and that
particular payrise. Anyway £5.95 x 7.5(regular working day) x 21(roughly the
number of working days a month) = £937. Now take away 15% tax and that leaves
you with £796 a month. Can you see how it seemed steep to give more than a half
of that just for rent? After paying for travel I would have been left with £200
for a month… I don’t think I need to spell out just what and how much this
amount of money can buy. The list wouldn’t stretch far past the weekly grocery
shop.
Now I’m not complaining – I made my choice, I had no work
experience nor skills and I just had to make do with what I could get. So for a
long time I shared my bedroom with one girlfriend or another and was able to
keep the cost of rent down significantly. I made it work. Even when I had to
work part time for few years to attend the university I somehow made it work,
because I made a choice to invest (I must say this word sounds a bit ironic,
since now I have a £9,000 tuition fee loan to pay back) in my future with my
hard work and commitment.
Fast forward to 2012. I have a Bachelors Degree 2.1, top of
my class actually, because no one got a 1st! I’ve had my gap year
and I am fully ready for life. Have a cozy job in a lovely office, doing what I
studied for three years and I must say I am even almost enjoying it (as much as
anyone with some brain can enjoy working with a singular goal to make a profit
for man on top who doesn’t have any idea who you are). It would all be ok,
except for the fact that I find myself in pretty much the same position as five
years ago!
Nowadays my wage is no longer hourly, I am paid annually
just over £18,000. After paying my taxes (and the unfortunate student loan) I
take home £1,250 every month. It’s not amazing, but that’s what an honest educated
person in my line of work can hope for. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but
unfortunately your average rent is no longer £450.
I am 25 years old. If I wanted to live let’s say with 2-3
other young people, in a lively urban area, have my own bedroom (preferably
with a window if that’s not too much to ask) and a living room where we could
all spend some recreational time together I need to be prepared to pay £700 and
more. I believe if you’ve read this far, your knowledge of math is sufficient
enough to work out that this is more than half of my salary. Again. Why did I
bother? Why does anyone bother?
Look, I know it’s life and I know you can’t have it all. I
also know that I am just at the bottom of my career ladder and it will get
better. I know. But what I don’t understand, and since I am too lazy to find
out for myself, I am hoping that someone with more knowledge will explain this
to me – please stop me in the street if you can tell me the answer: why is it
ok with everyone? Why is everyone ok with paying £600 for a double bedroom,
which let me tell you is basically a small room 95% taken over by a huge bed?
Or am I basically the only person in town who earns that little money?
I like urban living, I don’t want to live in North Harrow –
just because it’s one of the areas that I am advised to rent in by some
economist who suggests, that only one third of your salary should be spent on
rent. So, yes seems like I could be able to afford a room in North Harrow.
Bloody zone five. I mean really? How much will that cost me to commute each
month? (and don’t even get me started on the ridiculous zone-pricing travel system in London). I don’t want
to live in North bloody Harrow – what am I going to do there?
Unfortunately all the areas that are of acceptable traveling
distance have already gone through gentrification like Camden or Shoreditch and
Dalston. I mean even Stratford after Olympics is way more expensive than a year
ago. So…. Let me get this straight – if Camden or Dalston used to be cheap and
now they are not and same with Stratford… there are basically more expensive
areas in London now right? So are there more rich people? I mean who lives
there? Who is paying higher rents? Has the percentage of high earners increased
accordingly? I don’t think so. So where do all the low earners go? North Harrow
I suppose… But why is that ok? Why are rents not controlled? Why aren’t they
capped? If the room is no bigger than your bed and there’s no window surely it
shouldn’t cost more and more each year?
I get that it’s a free market and landlords are just
businessmen charging whatever they can get away with as long as there’s demand.
And there will always be demand in capital cities. But then why is a minimum
wage controlled? If it’s the same free market we’re talking about? There will
always be a demand for jobs. Especially in this economy. So why control it? Oh
yes, because some person in the government, who had a private education all
their lives and never had to think twice about taking a taxi back home on a
night out (night bus what?), decided that this is the amount that is decent
enough to survive on. Basic human rights and all that. You know, survival. OK,
well isn’t shelter a part of that? I mean really. The money I’m paying for my
room is just going into someone’s greedy little pocket. And my landlord for
example has a full time job and gets £1,500 a month from the three of us living
here on top of his monthly wage. Now would it really hurt him if he got £1,200?
In other words if the rent was controlled? Because the way I see it – being a
landlord is not a job, unless you’re in property business and you manage a few,
in which case even with smaller rents you’d be able to earn enough. So why do I,
with a single source of income have to suffer instead of someone who’s just
cashing in on being lucky enough to own any property in London? I’m not saying
let’s take away their money, but I’m just saying – we are paying too much! All
of us. Every single person that I know.
Having done a sufficient amount of flat hunting myself I can
recognize a shady landlord immediately. My colleague was looking for a place to
live just now and unfortunately every time I said “that is not an en suite
bathroom – that is a shower cabin in your bedroom”, I turn out to be right. Or
if I say “that room looks too good to be true” – turns out all the new
furniture from the picture had been replaced with old scruffy shelves. Do
landlords think they can just trick us into living somewhere? Are we supposed
to think “oh well I’ve made the journey to view it, so I might as well stick
around and live here everyday?”
I need someone urgently to tell me why is this ok?
