Now that I’m featuring the items that Scot Bathgate sends in as “The Daily Scot,” it’s only fair that Tom Durning gets his own banner since Tom has been contributing great material to Price Tags for years.
Tom works with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, so, in addition to a lot of fun stuff, he provides links to items like this: Generation rent is here to stay and deserves a fair deal, from The Guardian.
The annual English Housing Survey actually tells us very little we don’t already know, but the emerging headlines are still hard to swallow for most renters.
Two thirds of under 35s are currently trapped in the rental market and those in generation rent will be understandably concerned that rent takes up 40% of their incomes – double the 20% that mortgage repayments take up of owner-occupiers’ incomes – and they have nothing to call their own at the end.
More here.
Gord,
I hope you’re going to point out the raging disinformation and half-truths of that quote. “…trapped in the rental market…” Meaning that all under-35s who rent who are there against their will?
Note the clever omission of relevant data to make the financial discrepancy sound as bad as possible:
> rent takes up 40% of their incomes – double the 20% that mortgage repayments take up of owner-occupiers’ incomes – and they have nothing to call their own at the end. >
Apples to oranges. The TOTAL rent one pays, which incorporates all repairs, financing costs, taxes, maintenance, accounting, bad debts, insurance, loss of income, and profit to the owner of the rental property; versus only the cost of the mortgage for the homeowner.
Best way to lie: put a number on it. (See: Price Tags- “Another ‘Most Congested Cities’ List”)
See you tonight.
Cheers,
Michael Alexander malexander@pobox.com