We rent in the UK’s most unaffordable city — and it’s not London

Bristol has overtaken London as the least affordable city for renters in the UK, with tenants now paying £1,883 per month on average.

That might sound like a steal to some forking out upwards of £2,000 in the capital, but let’s not forget workers are entitled to London Weighting and the London Living Wage.

Without the paycheque boost, rent in Bristol amounts to 45% of the average salary for someone working there, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. That’s compared to 42% in Greater London.

Of course, some areas of London are still far more expensive, but the statistics show London’s average score has been brought down by more affordable areas like Barking & Dagenham and Waltham Forest.

Why is Bristol so unaffordable?

Roma Sharma, managing director of property management company Rushbrook & Rathbone, tells Metro Bristol’s affordability problem has been building for ‘a number of years’ and is really the result of demand consistently outpacing supply.

‘It’s a city with a strong employment market, thriving tech and creative sectors, as well as a large student population, all of which continue to attract new residents,’ she says.

‘At the same time, the delivery of new rental homes hasn’t kept pace, creating intense competition for the stock that is available.’

Roma explains that in Bristol, the situation is worsening as wage growth in the city has struggled to keep in line with rental inflation.

‘Until we see a meaningful increase in rental supply, whether through more housebuilding or greater investment in the private rented sector, affordability pressures are unlikely to ease,’ she explains.

‘In fact, there’s every chance that more regional cities will face similar challenges over the coming years as demand continues to outweigh the availability of homes.’

What do locals say about renting in Bristol?

Metro spoke to several renters who wished to remain anonymous, due to the risks of repercussions from landlords in a precarious rental market.

One recent University of the West England graduate told us their property has a broken oven and a silverfish infestation, yet comes with a price tag of £1,850 per month split between three people. She rents the larger en-suite room, so pays £645 of the share, totalling more than £800 a month once council tax and bills are added.

‘We’re trying to take our landlord to court to get some money back,’ she says. ‘During university, it was standard to pay a high cost for the bare minimum due to the competitive nature of securing a contract. As a graduate, I thought it would be better, but I’m on around £26,000 paying a huge percent of my monthly salary for these conditions.’

A current student in Bristol tells us they’ve had to ask for support from their parents due to their maintenance loan not covering high rent costs.

‘This year it costs £730 a month, and even with a part-time job, I can’t cover these costs plus the high cost of living,’ they say. ‘While bills are included, our landlord had remote control over our heating using a smart meter. He capped it in the winter as he claimed we were using too much.’

A third renter, a young professional living with students, pays just over £700 for her space in a house share, plus bills.

‘This brings my monthly cost of living in Bristol to just shy of £1,000 a month. Working a 35 hour work week in a hospitality job means this far exceeds half of my income,’ she says. ‘My landlord decided to park his sports car in the garage, an area included in the rental agreement.’

Stories like this are increasingly common, so much so that a group of tenants have joined together to form the Bristol Fair Renting Campaign, demanding the city’s political leaders take action to address the situation.

‘Bristol renters can’t keep up with this city’s expensive and rising rents,’ reads their petition, which has been signed by more than 4,000 people.

‘A lot of us are living in poor and unsafe conditions, and we aren’t able to challenge landlords or letting agents who fail to make repairs, because we are at risk of rent increases and eviction. And many of us are locked out of private renting altogether, due to the discrimination we face based on our age, sex, race, disability, type of employment or type of income.’

Decent landlords do exist in the city still if you’re lucky enough to find one.

Writing for Metro earlier this year, Bristol resident Issy Packer said she’s never had any problems, but admitted she’s paid the equivalent of a house deposit to her landlord in the last five years.

‘It’s the best £32,000 I’ve ever spent,’ she joked.

Having grown up on the outskirts of the city, Issy always dreamed on living in the centre once she moved out of her parents’ home. She now pays £1,112 a month, split with her sister, for a two-bed ground floor flat with a small garden. She said she wouldn’t be able to afford to buy a home in the city, which currently costs £354,000 on average.

‘Having lived here for over five years, I can’t imagine sacrificing this location just so I could buy my own place at astronomical prices,’ she said.

‘If I wasn’t renting, I wouldn’t have had all the experiences, memories and opportunities that have come my way.

‘As a music journalist and editor, I cover a huge array of gigs going on in the city for work, and living in the city centre allowed me to walk to these events. 

‘I’ve made friends with people nearby and taken up new local hobbies – like starting my own music listening club in the city centre.’

Under the Renters’ Rights Act introduced in May, landlords can now only increase rent once a year. Though the move has been welcomed by most, some say it’s too little too late for the market in Bristol.

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