A survey of tenants commissioned by Zero Deposit found that 65% struggle with the cost of living once they’ve covered the cost of rent and other outgoings such as utility bills: with the average cost of rent in England currently at £1,348 per month, plus an average of £415 per month to cover council tax, energy and water bills and other monthly costs such as broadband, pockets are being squeezed.
With the average monthly net income currently standing at £2,634, this means that 67% of a tenants monthly earnings go towards the cost of their rental property.
No surprise then, that once these costs have been accounted for, 74% of renters surveyed by Zero Deposit say they struggle to afford other outgoings such as social occasions, leisure activities and other non-essential purchases.
Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of year as costs ramp up due to an increase in social occasions, the requirement of purchasing gifts and other increased spends such as food and drink.
73% of those surveyed by Zero Deposit stated that they feel an increased sense of pressure during the festive season due to their financial situation and expectations to spend more at Christmas.
Purchasing gifts for friends and family ranked top when asked which aspects put them under the most pressure, with the expectation to spend more on food and drink, as well as a busier social calendar also ranking highly - so much so that 66% are planning to cut back on their usual Christmas spending habits this Christmas, with social occasions ranking as the top area where they will look to save.
Sam Reynolds, CEO of Zero Deposit commented:
“The rental market can be a tough place to be at the best of times, let alone during Christmas, with tenants required to pay a significant chunk of their monthly earnings simply to cover the costs associated with a rental home.
"However, this financial pressure can be heightened considerably over the festive period, as the costs associated with visiting loved ones, purchasing gifts, food and drink all start to mount up.
"Unfortunately, there’s no quick fix and the market imbalance between supply and demand has continued to push the cost of renting up over the last year. Rather than encourage more landlords to the sector to help ease the current rental crisis, the government has remained consistently intent on deterring them via a raft of legislative changes in recent years.
"Of course, Labour’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes could help to ease the current rental crisis, but that’s only if the government actually delivers and history has shown us that housebuilding targets are rarely fulfilled.
"This trend looks set to continue in 2025 and so whilst this Christmas may be looking bleak for many tenants across the rental market, it could well get worse come this time next year.”
