Well yeah, obviously it costs more. People living alone is very inefficient, and they require more resources per head than people living in larger groups – so it’s not exactly surprising they have to pay a premium.
> If I go on a trip, I pay the same for a hotel room as a couple would.
Again, seems pretty obvious because you’re still taking up the whole room regardless of whether there’s one of your or two of you. The only place where you might end up costing the hotel less is at breakfast, and that’s often not included in the room rate anyway.
> And I run a car, so every year I pay for road tax, breakdown cover, MOT, service, repairs, insurance by myself. That’s another several hundred pounds a year more.
What exactly ere they expecting here? The taxpayer to subsidise their annual MOT and car repairs because they’re living on their own?
JimJonesdrinkkoolaid on
>“The rent in a house share these days is nuts compared with how it was a couple of years ago.
>“I live in a house share with four others, and at the moment I’m paying £869 [a month], and then they are going to put this up to £950 in the next month for, literally, a room that’s not even in the city centre,” he says. “It’s just not affordable to live alone.”
£950 a month for a room…
Ash684 on
If they live in a house share with 4 other people, do they really live alone?
[deleted] on
[deleted]
ZakalweTheChairmaker on
There are many people in this country who are struggling horribly to make ends meet through no fault of their own. These people deserve sympathy.
But some people not in this group seem to aspire to victimhood. The first dude in the article was able to move from one affluent country to another affluent country to live and work. In London whilst being in his early twenties no less. By most definitions of the word, he is privileged.
The second person owned her own house, was able to choose to move to another and therefore presumably could afford a mortgage in the current climate and owns and runs a car. Again, compared to the majority of those 40-odd or under, privileged.
Raising awareness that economies of scale apply to people pooling resources? While we’re at it should we raise awareness of the wetness of water?
BritishRevenge on
I managed to do it but for most people it’s not possible
DWOL82 on
£950 a month for a room is insane. I pay £600 a month for a 3 bedroom house with drive for 2 cars and a garden. That’s the increased price too as it was £500 a few years ago. When I add council tax, energy, water and broadband it’s still not quite up to £950.
mitchanium on
It’s high time we had our own British version of friends :/s
DC2310 on
Society failing people again. I’m fortunate enough to have a career that earns me more than most households do so this doesn’t apply to me.
However, the number of people in situationships rather than relationships is extremely high, whether they agree or not.
MoistSnow220 on
The rich don’t want us poors to own property, they want us to know our place and keep paying housing scalpers – this is a feature not a bug.
deprevino on
My friend’s partner used to rack up thousands on credit cards, and now that she’s left him, he feels loaded. I think living alone can go either way. 😂
NobleForEngland_ on
Well yeah, we import a million people a year. Of course the cost of housing has gone through the roof!
SpiceSnizz on
I mean living on your own is an inefficient use of property and a privilege most people in history have not had.
That being said housing is ridiculously expensive
shaversonly230v115v on
Too many comments telling people that they should just move away from London.
Who is going to do the jobs that these people leave?
It’s kind of a problem for the city if it’s basically unaffordable for ordinary people.
TedClubber-Lang on
I (28M) & a mate managed to get a solid 2 bed flat in a northern town for £550pcm in mid-2021.
3 1/2 years later…
2 rents increases (£600pcm currently)
1 spare bedroom now my flatmate left
I’m getting by month-to-month but I’m not growing my savings.
Rent + bills = roughly £1,000+ a month.
If that’s the cost of an independent adult life then I’ll pay it.
It is what it is, I’m not sure life will dramatically improve anytime soon.
I guess I’m used to paying £950pcm for a room in a shared house. It’s fine. I mean, I’m never going to be able to buy a house but, at least for now, I can survive.
I can’t imagine how students or minimum wage employees can possibly live in London though!
HazeemTheMeme on
London’s always been shit and just gets worse, had a small room in a council flat by Fulham for £900 a month before bills, now the new tenants price has gone up to £965
satisfiedfools on
It’s going this way everywhere. Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Canada is the worst-case scenario. Whole economy is one big Ponzi scheme built around real estate, parliament is stuffed with landlords on all sides of the aisle, supposedly left-wing government bringing in unbelievable amounts of migrants to keep the whole thing afloat.
Canada’s population has grown by 10% in 3 years.
Starmer’s going to do nothing to fix it, the tories aren’t going to fix it, no one’s going to fix it. The whole world’s entered a new era of feudalism. You’ve got the capital owners making money off their assets, and you’ve got the serfs who drag themselves into work everyday to increase the value of those assets. This is going to get worse. It’s not going to get better.
shoogliestpeg on
About to get worse under Labour if the Single Person household Council Tax discount is removed.
Cjc2205 on
In my small town in the East Midlands a room in a shared house can range anywhere from 650 to 850 a month, half the time not including bills
Nervous_Inflation_90 on
I’m high up for one of the biggest businesses in the uk, I literally sit opposite the plant director and he’s my direct report.
Last week I saved the business 210k, the months before around 2 million and increased our production OEE by 15%. I can’t afford to rent a 2 bed on my wages, im in council housing. For perspective a Maccies manager earns 50% more than me. Big business is a waste of time, the housing market is cooked and yes, my company owns 1000’s of houses in the UK as a side hustle for the shareholders.
demidom94 on
When I had to move out of my ex’s house 7/8 years ago, I got a house share for £395. I now pay £600. *For a bedroom*. There are househares in my area that go for £700-800 for the privilege of living with 6-7 other people. It’s all wrong. A single person should at LEAST be able to rent a 1 bedroom flat – impossible because with rent and bills you’re looking at £1200 in my area when I only earn £1400 for working full-time in a reputable financial company.
_Discombobulate_ on
Don’t really have any sympathy for these people when they continue to vote in pro mass migration parties. You’ve brought this on yourselves.
BushidoX0 on
Everyone on the ‘London’ side is saying you need to be there for certain jobs.
Which jobs are these?
Ok-Koala6173 on
I mean, I live in High Wycombe and my tiny (but 2 bed) flat is £900 a month. I have a network rail card and my company lets me travel off peak to work so it’s £20 a day, or I can get a bus to Amersham and hop on the tube. I’ve never lived in London for that reason. Yes commuting is long but I can do it an hour each way and it’s my relaxing time. I consider living by myself a luxury of course but there are house shares here too, one of my friends lives with 3 people and pays about £500 a month.
CDHmajora on
No longer feeling ashamed about living with my mother at 27 at least 🙁
Hell, the only reason she can afford the house we live in now (3 bedrooms. Though my bedroom is literally 6 foot 3 inches wide. Just enough for a bed and a drawer) is because me and my sister pay towards the rent so it’s 3 of us to afford the house.
I’ll never get my own place it seems. Not unless I look into a 50 grand a year job which might cover a small studio flat 🙁
27 Comments
Well yeah, obviously it costs more. People living alone is very inefficient, and they require more resources per head than people living in larger groups – so it’s not exactly surprising they have to pay a premium.
> If I go on a trip, I pay the same for a hotel room as a couple would.
Again, seems pretty obvious because you’re still taking up the whole room regardless of whether there’s one of your or two of you. The only place where you might end up costing the hotel less is at breakfast, and that’s often not included in the room rate anyway.
> And I run a car, so every year I pay for road tax, breakdown cover, MOT, service, repairs, insurance by myself. That’s another several hundred pounds a year more.
What exactly ere they expecting here? The taxpayer to subsidise their annual MOT and car repairs because they’re living on their own?
>“The rent in a house share these days is nuts compared with how it was a couple of years ago.
>“I live in a house share with four others, and at the moment I’m paying £869 [a month], and then they are going to put this up to £950 in the next month for, literally, a room that’s not even in the city centre,” he says. “It’s just not affordable to live alone.”
£950 a month for a room…
If they live in a house share with 4 other people, do they really live alone?
[deleted]
There are many people in this country who are struggling horribly to make ends meet through no fault of their own. These people deserve sympathy.
But some people not in this group seem to aspire to victimhood. The first dude in the article was able to move from one affluent country to another affluent country to live and work. In London whilst being in his early twenties no less. By most definitions of the word, he is privileged.
The second person owned her own house, was able to choose to move to another and therefore presumably could afford a mortgage in the current climate and owns and runs a car. Again, compared to the majority of those 40-odd or under, privileged.
Raising awareness that economies of scale apply to people pooling resources? While we’re at it should we raise awareness of the wetness of water?
I managed to do it but for most people it’s not possible
£950 a month for a room is insane. I pay £600 a month for a 3 bedroom house with drive for 2 cars and a garden. That’s the increased price too as it was £500 a few years ago. When I add council tax, energy, water and broadband it’s still not quite up to £950.
It’s high time we had our own British version of friends :/s
Society failing people again. I’m fortunate enough to have a career that earns me more than most households do so this doesn’t apply to me.
However, the number of people in situationships rather than relationships is extremely high, whether they agree or not.
The rich don’t want us poors to own property, they want us to know our place and keep paying housing scalpers – this is a feature not a bug.
My friend’s partner used to rack up thousands on credit cards, and now that she’s left him, he feels loaded. I think living alone can go either way. 😂
Well yeah, we import a million people a year. Of course the cost of housing has gone through the roof!
I mean living on your own is an inefficient use of property and a privilege most people in history have not had.
That being said housing is ridiculously expensive
Too many comments telling people that they should just move away from London.
Who is going to do the jobs that these people leave?
It’s kind of a problem for the city if it’s basically unaffordable for ordinary people.
I (28M) & a mate managed to get a solid 2 bed flat in a northern town for £550pcm in mid-2021.
3 1/2 years later…
2 rents increases (£600pcm currently)
1 spare bedroom now my flatmate left
I’m getting by month-to-month but I’m not growing my savings.
Rent + bills = roughly £1,000+ a month.
If that’s the cost of an independent adult life then I’ll pay it.
It is what it is, I’m not sure life will dramatically improve anytime soon.
The darkest and dingiest place for £700 pm
https://m.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/flatshare_detail.pl?flatshare_id=16739640&search_id=1326607231&city_id=&flatshare_type=offered&search_results=%2Fflatshare%2F%3Fsearch_id%3D1326607231%26&
I guess I’m used to paying £950pcm for a room in a shared house. It’s fine. I mean, I’m never going to be able to buy a house but, at least for now, I can survive.
I can’t imagine how students or minimum wage employees can possibly live in London though!
London’s always been shit and just gets worse, had a small room in a council flat by Fulham for £900 a month before bills, now the new tenants price has gone up to £965
It’s going this way everywhere. Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Canada is the worst-case scenario. Whole economy is one big Ponzi scheme built around real estate, parliament is stuffed with landlords on all sides of the aisle, supposedly left-wing government bringing in unbelievable amounts of migrants to keep the whole thing afloat.
Canada’s population has grown by 10% in 3 years.
Starmer’s going to do nothing to fix it, the tories aren’t going to fix it, no one’s going to fix it. The whole world’s entered a new era of feudalism. You’ve got the capital owners making money off their assets, and you’ve got the serfs who drag themselves into work everyday to increase the value of those assets. This is going to get worse. It’s not going to get better.
About to get worse under Labour if the Single Person household Council Tax discount is removed.
In my small town in the East Midlands a room in a shared house can range anywhere from 650 to 850 a month, half the time not including bills
I’m high up for one of the biggest businesses in the uk, I literally sit opposite the plant director and he’s my direct report.
Last week I saved the business 210k, the months before around 2 million and increased our production OEE by 15%. I can’t afford to rent a 2 bed on my wages, im in council housing. For perspective a Maccies manager earns 50% more than me. Big business is a waste of time, the housing market is cooked and yes, my company owns 1000’s of houses in the UK as a side hustle for the shareholders.
When I had to move out of my ex’s house 7/8 years ago, I got a house share for £395. I now pay £600. *For a bedroom*. There are househares in my area that go for £700-800 for the privilege of living with 6-7 other people. It’s all wrong. A single person should at LEAST be able to rent a 1 bedroom flat – impossible because with rent and bills you’re looking at £1200 in my area when I only earn £1400 for working full-time in a reputable financial company.
Don’t really have any sympathy for these people when they continue to vote in pro mass migration parties. You’ve brought this on yourselves.
Everyone on the ‘London’ side is saying you need to be there for certain jobs.
Which jobs are these?
I mean, I live in High Wycombe and my tiny (but 2 bed) flat is £900 a month. I have a network rail card and my company lets me travel off peak to work so it’s £20 a day, or I can get a bus to Amersham and hop on the tube. I’ve never lived in London for that reason. Yes commuting is long but I can do it an hour each way and it’s my relaxing time. I consider living by myself a luxury of course but there are house shares here too, one of my friends lives with 3 people and pays about £500 a month.
No longer feeling ashamed about living with my mother at 27 at least 🙁
Hell, the only reason she can afford the house we live in now (3 bedrooms. Though my bedroom is literally 6 foot 3 inches wide. Just enough for a bed and a drawer) is because me and my sister pay towards the rent so it’s 3 of us to afford the house.
I’ll never get my own place it seems. Not unless I look into a 50 grand a year job which might cover a small studio flat 🙁