Rents set to soar, pricing workers out of Bath homes
Rents in the city could go up by almost 50 per cent in the next eight years, making it the most expensive place to live in the west.
According to a survey by the National Housing Federation, rents in the region are expected to increase by 48 per cent by 2020.
In Bath and north east Somerset this rise would increase average monthly rent payments by £409, the highest figure in the region, to £1,253.
The report, called Home Truths 2012, also predicted that house prices in the region were likely to go by 38.4 per cent by 2020.
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The National Housing Federation said the reason for the increase was a lack of housing supply.
Jenny Allen, South West lead manager for the federation, said: "Successive governments have failed to tackle the undersupply of housing and time is now running out. If we don't urgently fix the housing market we will have a generation who are priced out of renting a home, let alone buying one.
"Being unable to afford the homes they need stops people from moving for work. We also know that it prevents young couples starting families, so in effect it can stop aspiration dead in its tracks."
Victor da Cunha, chief executive of social housing provider Curo, said if young people could not rent or buy, that would have a profound effect on the city.
Mr da Cunha said: "This unsustainable rise is due to a woeful shortage in housing, with demand pushing up prices all the time.
"Economically, Bath cannot afford for tomorrow's generation to leave our city. We need a living, vibrant city and housing is central to that vision.
"At Curo we have the capacity to build nearly 1,200 new homes in the next four years. However, the lack of suitable sites that people are willing to see developed for existing and future generations is a major hurdle."
He added making small-scale brownfield sites in the city available could help.
Mr da Cunha said: "To truly meet the scale of demand across B&NES, overall supply needs to be increased. This needs to be supported by planning policy allowing a far higher number of new and affordable homes to be built."
Ian Bell, executive director at Bath Chamber of Commerce and the Initiative in B&NES, agreed, adding that for Bath's economy to thrive, workers must be able to live in the city.
Mr Bell said: "There is a feeling that the laws of supply and demand will work as much with rent as they will in any other sort of market.
"If we have more economic growth, we want more jobs and ideally we want to see those people filling those jobs living locally – in an ideal world people need to live where they work."
Comments
by a1rhellair
Wednesday, October 31 2012, 11:56AM
“Gordon - Thank you. The respect is mutual. Yes I agree my 'hard-hitting' is sometimes too abrasive. I should reserve it for some notable large organisations of bath, who when threats don't work, backtrack and try to hide behind legislation.
As majorFlack said elsewhere, this is an online persona. There may be some similarities to real life, but not completely. Likewise, I assume yours to be the same.”
by GordonTracey
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 10:20PM
“See Anil, you can't stop yourself can you? Bath will survive and continue to thrive long after we have both moved on. And what do I reallyb think of you? You seem a decent bloke, a very intelligent poster, very often agree with you, just wish you would take some of that anti-Bath chip off your shoulder. There's a lot to be said for preserving what is good about Bath, and there is a lot of good.”
by Mush66
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 5:00PM
“Also worth noting, not sure if it's been mentioned that 7/8's of all housing benefit recipients are actually employed...not laid in bed with blinds shut til lunchtime, as the government would have you believe...Dont get angry with the tiny minority of claimants that actually are lazy...wake up and get angry at the right people.... currently, tax payers, through working tax credits and housing benefit are massively subsidising profits for greedy landlords and poor paying large corporations and businesses...”
by a1rhellair
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 2:25PM
“I would have a lot more respect for you if you could occasionally STFU on that point, and respect that some people actually love Bath, despite it not being to your taste...."
Who actually cares about what you think of me, Dylan/Gordon? I don't. Respect is not about telling people what they want to hear. Agree some people must love bath. Otherwise it would not have stuck in a timewarp, hemorrhaging its young people. The exorbitant, unjustifiable and greed-driven rents shows bath is trying to emulate london with none of its advantages. But don't just take my word for it - plenty of views here agree with that.”
by Dylanwing
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 12:52PM
“That really shows respect for my opinion Anil - I would have a lot more respect for you if you could occasionally STFU on that point, and respect that some people actually love Bath, despite it not being to your taste. Exactly as I respect your love of London, even though it is not to my taste in the slightest.”
by a1rhellair
Tuesday, October 30 2012, 10:55AM
“Sorry, am I not allowed my own opinion, or to love my home City?
Or me mine?
Henry and spadat1256, you are right. Someone has to love the museum piece. Hope future generations will see beyond the georgian bollux and propaganda.”
by HenryCrun
Monday, October 29 2012, 11:58PM
“Of course you are, Gordon. Somebody has to. ;-)”
by GordonTracey
Monday, October 29 2012, 8:48PM
“"I think a1rhellair was right about the blinkers."
Sorry, am I not allowed my own opinion, or to love my home City?”
by HenryCrun
Monday, October 29 2012, 8:13PM
“Well put Moe. I salute you, sir.”
by MoeXXX
Monday, October 29 2012, 6:57PM
“Thank you Mush66 for dispelling one of the more insidious right-wing untruths. By way of evidence, it has emerged today that nearly 5 million workers are paid less than a living wage. Not scroungers, workers. Five million. One in five.
http://tinyurl.com/9yu754l
Can we also please trash the myth that correlates income and hard work. The going rate for a particular job is set only by market forces - hard work has got nothing to do with it.
The trouble with this country is the sheer number of people who choose simply believe the nonsense rather than expending any mental effort thinking it through. Until the population is educated and informed enough to ensure such tabloid-headline-based government policies are immediately laughed out of parliament, we will never begin to solve these problems.”