30.05.17
Workers shelling out almost half of their salary to pay ‘sky-high’ rents
Workers in the UK are having to pay almost half of their salary to keep up with ‘sky-high’ private rents, housing charity Shelter has found.
In findings released today, it was revealed that low-paid workers earning between £16,000-£23,000 per year were finding themselves paying 44% of their income to live in a typical one-bedroom home.
For residents in London, this problem was even worse as some were found to be shelling out 78% of their income just to pay for their housing.
These people often work as care home staff, security guards, factory workers, hairdressers and fitness instructors among others. Today’s revelation comes after Shelter also warned that many people in the UK were being forced to borrow large sums of money just to pay rent.
It also follows a warning from Civitas that the current housebuilding model was failing to deliver affordable homes for people in local areas.
Anne Baxendale, director of communications, policy and campaigns at Shelter, said: “Colossal amounts of people’s time and money are being snatched away by eye-watering rents, which is a kick in the teeth when they are toiling so hard for their futures.”
She also stated that a huge chunk of people’s salaries was being spent simply on keeping a roof over their heads, whilst many were forced to dip into savings or were slipping into debt to cover other essentials and stay afloat.
“The next government can make a real difference by building half a million new living rent homes for ordinary working people and families,” Baxendale concluded. “This will give them the chance for a far stronger future, instead of being left to scrape by.”
Top Image: Dominic Lipinski PA Wire
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