It is a rental trap!

Saving money to pay the rent each month.
Source: www.gasboilers-buyability.co.uk

A rising number of twenty and thirtysomethings living in London will not get on the property ladder anytime soon.

The desperate shortage of affordable homes in the capital is forcing many in the rental trap and they are helpless in the face of not always scrupulous landlords.

Rents in London, in fact, rose eight times faster than wages, hitting thousands of young working people who are now struggling to pay the higher rental rates, which swallow an ever higher chunk of their income.

Renting costs have been pushed to astronomical levels in the West End and surrounding areas, forcing many tenants to consider relocating outside London.

A one bedroom apartment in central London costs nearly £ 2,700 a month, while in the suburban areas prices stand at slightly less than £ 1,100.

“More than a quarter of Londoners now rent from private landlords, compared with 14 per cent in 1991. But many say they are being priced out the rental sector just as brutally as they have been excluded from home ownership”, David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services said.

According to Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of the Labour group on Westminster council,  the astronomical levels charged by homeowners make the strongest case yet for the introduction of controls on private rents.

“London is the only mayor cuity without a form of rent control and hundreds of thousands of ordinary Londoners are now paying a massive price for the huge escalation in rents throughout the capital”, Mr Dimoldenberg said.