Is Brent experiencing overcrowding in tenant rental properties?

 In 2008 the financial crash initiated a number of trends that served as a stark reminder of the growing wealth divide in the capital. People on low incomes had to reevaluate whether they could afford the rising rents and the wealthy were encouraged to use property for profit. This is not just limited to London. Global capital is being allowed to transform the world’s cities from New York to Barcelona.

It has become quite apparent with respect to these tenancy deposit recovery claims observations, that the housing crisis in the UK is linked to the more prosperous members of society. Capital growth, which is outstripping wage growth, has catalysed a wealth divide and is relegating the less affluent to a life of rent.

The unfortunate result is there are those who will take advantage of the misfortune of others and profit. Letting agents offering “guaranteed rent” and renting a whole property to an individual who then re-rents it out to others is becoming a common theme across the capital. This is has been coined in the property world as “rent to rent”. A number of councils have prosecuted agents who have used this technique at the expense and safety of unwitting tenants.

Another factor causing additional pressure on the private rental market is the growing popularity of Airbnb properties, which allows owners to rent properties on a nightly basis to affluent tourists. This takes accommodation away from the long-term rental market and keeps prices high.

We can see from the Local Authority Housing Statistics Report that there is a pattern of less affluent boroughs being affected by this in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) with the proportion of overcrowding (see graph below).

 

Brent ranks as the second highest borough for overcrowding after Newham. This shows not only the demand to be housed in the borough, but a sizeable demographic of the Brent population whose incomes do not match the capital values of property in Brent.

As the stock of affordable and social housing diminishes and rents continue to rise, solutions are looking increasingly sparse. A combination of constructive government resource allocations with the new budgetary changes, and Brent Council’s tightening up on HMO regulations should see some positive momentum into 2018.