With rents skyrocketing across the UK it can be hard to find somewhere affordable. But there are things you can do to reduce your rent. One won't come as a surprise, but the second just might...
1 - Split the cost of living by sharing with housemates
It's simple - by sharing a house or flat you pay less. The cost of the shared spaces is split between more people and everyone's rent is cheaper. Not only that, by sharing you can often live in a better neighbourhood than you could afford on your own. We get it though, lots of you will already be doing this, so what can you do to save money?
2 - Join an existing flatshare
With rents hitting all-time highs in most regions of the UK over the past year, even signing a new contract with housemates is going to be expensive. However, if you join an existing contract (either by replacing someone's housemate who's moving out, or even finding someone who didn't previously have a housemate but has decided to get one) you could save a lot.
Think about it - if you join an existing contract, you could well be paying rent set a year ago, or longer. In the past 12 months, rents in the UK went up by 15%. Since the start of 2022, here's how much rents have gone up in the following regions:
- London - 20%
- Wales - 14%
- Scotland - 14%
- Northern Ireland - 12%
Just by signing up to last year's rent levels, you could be saving up to £80 per month. Over the course of the next 12 months that could really add up. Just saving £50 per month makes you £600 better off by this time next year.
Even if the contract only has a few months left to run, before the rent goes up, the savings could outweigh the increase.
3 - Consider living with a homeowner
The other thing to consider is living with a homeowner as their lodger. On average these types of rooms are cheaper than the average rent charged by landlords.