UK Has Third Highest Housing Costs In Europe
UK Has 3rd Highest Housing Costs In Europe
New data released by the European Union has been highlighted by the housing and homeless charity Shelter, showing that the UK is the third worst off country in Europe when it comes to housing costs behind Denmark and Greece.
The EU says that 16.5% of people in the UK are financially burdened by housing costs, spending more than 40% of their income on rent or mortgage payments and other property related expenses.
Chief Executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb, said: “These figures are the evidence that the UK housing market is deeply dysfunctional. With so many families spending huge amounts of their income on their rent or mortgage, people will be making daily trade-offs between food bills, filling the car tank with petrol, and paying their housing costs. And this is not set to get better any time soon. While the situation is bleak at the moment, a succession of governments failing to provide much-needed affordable homes means that the future facing our children and our children’s children is only set to get worse. Housing is the largest monthly cost for most people, yet the affordability of housing is not getting the same attention as the monthly costs of other essentials such as food or fuel. We believe all political parties must recognise that solving our housing crisis is as fundamental as health and education.”
Landlords of Buy-To-Let properties are urged to set realistic rental prices for their properties but even they have high running costs to pay for as well as the mortgage.
However, Private Rented Sector (PRS) landlords are in a position to help struggling tenants by offering them a safety net when it comes to being able to pay the rent.
Rent Guarantee Insurance offered by Legal 4 Landlords can ensure that the rental income can continue to be paid should the tenants financial or employment circumstances change.