Renting costs in Brighton 'out of this world'

Residents in Brighton & Hove have expressed their dismay at government statistics which show the city is one of the least affordable places in England to rent property.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for the year up to April 2024 reveal that households in the East Sussex city spend an average of 44.7% of their gross income on rent.

The figure is the fourth highest for an authority in the entire country, behind only Manchester, Westminster and Kensington.

A government spokesperson said its Renters’ Rights Bill would "fundamentally reform the private rented sector, empowering tenants to tackle unreasonable rent hikes and banning unfair bidding wars".

Blyth Eling, a student at the University of Brighton, spends over £1,000 per month on rent for a room in a flat.

She told BBC Radio Sussex that accommodation took up "pretty much all of my student loan".

She said: "It leaves me with virtually no spending money.

"I find that really difficult as I've had to get a part-time job four days per week alongside my studies.

"It's just terrible, really".

Artist Steve Hogg, who is on disability allowance, pays £700 per month rent for his bedsit in Hove.

He said he and other tenants are facing eviction because the landlord is selling up.

He said finding a new place to rent was "tricky".

Mr Hogg said: "Brighton is ludicrously expensive.

"It is soul-destroying looking for another place. The costs are just out of this world."

One man, who moved to Brighton after living with family, told the BBC: "Brighton is expensive to rent. And you don't really get that extra pay that you would get in London to make up for it."

The ONS deemed Hastings the only “affordable” area for private rent in Sussex, with households there spending an average of 28.3% of their gross income on accommodation.

Paul Steedman, director of the countryside charity CPRE Sussex, said: “We need local authorities to require developers to provide a higher proportion of affordable housing."

A spokesperson for Brighton & Hove City Council said it was "committed to improving conditions in the private rental sector".

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