Where Am I Going To Live?
Seeing Casey’s flat got me thinking about finding a space of my own. But, like him, buying a house seems a little out of my reach at the moment. I’m not even sure I want a property of my own just yet – I’m not ready to be tied into a mortgage! And I’m certainly not alone in this feeling. As this article by the Guardian noted in 2014, “in the UK, buying a house is often presented as the only credible option for someone waning a happy, settled, successful life. We are a culture hopelessly devoted to home ownership. But as the property market has spiralled out of control […] more and more people, especially young people, are questioning this”. With this in mind, I investigated alternative options.
Renting: The Obvious One?
Renting seems like the most obvious option. It can be short, medium or long term, suiting a whole host of people. As Internations define, “as a general rule, a short-term tenancy is generally for a period of under six months. Tenancies offered for six months to a year are usually marketed as medium-term, and anything over a year is considered a long-term let.” Rentals can be furnished or unfurnished, the latter meaning a blank canvas for you to spread your creative wings (as long as the contract allows). And there are many different ways in which you can go about renting, as described in Being An Adult:
You can enter into a house share. Websites such as SpareRoom, RightMove, EasyRoommate and Gumtree all have thousands of properties on their books. Through their useful search options, you can narrow down such properties to show those that suit your needs - such as being pet friendly or female only. There are also more specific sites, such as IdealFlatmate which matches you with people based on personality, and LondonShared which has higher rents but well furnished rooms, WiFi and weekly cleaning included. Even a simple search on your social media might throw up rooms for rent with friends of friends.
You can find a property with friends. Again, there are so many resources out there to help, including OpenRent which specialises in lettings with private landlords, and PurpleBricks which has an easy to use app. To keep a friendship from going sour, be aware of everyone’s budgets and requirements ahead of starting the renting process and establish conditions on rent and bills upfront.
You can become a lodger. Along the same lines as taking a room in a house share, here you live with the homeowner. There’s less of a onus to socialise with other tenants and often rooms have more private space, both meaning more privacy. These sort of rentals are advertised as ‘live in landlord’.
You can look for council housing. Council housing is public housing that is rented to households that are unable to afford rent in the private sector, or to buy their own home. The local district and borough councils manage such properties. Of course, you’ll need to qualify for this sort of rental, but there’s loads of helpful information online.
There are heaps of benefits of renting. First and foremost, you have your own place, giving you that all important life experience. But its flexible – if you have a transitory lifestyle, for example due to travel or working freelance, it means you don’t have to be locked in long term. It allows you to ‘try out’ an area before committing, experimenting on where and with whom you live. It also alleviates you from the responsibility of maintaining a house and dealing with things like decoration – older properties in London often come with a lot of maintenance, which you therefore avoid, saving money (Sheerluxe)! What’s more, there are trends towards lifestyle services becoming a part of renting. This includes things like a concierge service or interior design – handy if you can afford it.
The main downside is that it can feel as though you are filling up the pockets of someone who is already on the property ladder, meaning your savings are impacted – it’s not fair!
Guardianship: The Controversial One?
Guardianship schemes were launched in the early naughties and are run by agencies such as Ad Hoc Property Management, Camelot, Dot Dot Dot and Live In Guardians. A property guardian is someone who enters into an agreement to live in a building, or part of one, that would otherwise be empty (Gov UK), with the main purpose of securing it – for example, by deterring squatters. This is often while such buildings await planning permission to be converted into something else and can include offices, police stations, pubs, schools and so on…
The schemes were once seen as a win-win situation for both guardians and property owners alike. Guardians gain access to quirky properties, usually in central locations, at prices much cheaper than renting a similar-sized property at market value (although prices are being pushed up). There are fewer long term commitments than a typical agreement, which means more flexibility surrounding when to leave. There’s also reported to be a real community spirit.
Property owners can avoid the high business rates associated with vacant commercial properties. By installing basic facilities, such as temporary showers and kitchens and bringing in guardians, their buildings can be reclassified as domestic (Guardian). This also eases the current housing shortage.
However, the schemes are full of issues, many of which fall upon the guardians. Most notably, guardians are not seen as tenants – rather, they sign a license agreement. Properties used are often commercial or industrial buildings, not originally intended for residential use, meaning unstable and poor living conditions – with little room for complaint. There are often fixed rules, such as no overnight visitors or no more than two friends on site at one time. Owners can come and inspect the property, ensuring such rules are adhered to, at any time. What’s more, there is no say over who you live with. Licenses usually aren’t for a fixed term, leaving the guardian vulnerable, as they may be required to leave at short notice.
While unlawful evictions do seem to occur, there aren’t a lot of prosecutions. Why? Well, a local authority is needed to prosecute and there is a complicated relationship between such authorities and guardian agencies – they are both regulators of them and clients of them. It follows that civil claims often end in settlements, compensation and gagging clauses (Guardian). All very messy.
What’s more, as a result of this precarious living, guardians can face problems getting insurance, cheap broadband, post, registering for bank accounts etc. (Moneywise).
For the reasons above, it is worth noting that the government does not endorse or encourage the use of property guardianship schemes as a form of housing tenure. To sum up, the concept can work, but people need to be aware of their rights and what they are getting into – especially as conditions vary so much.
Moving Home: The Undesirable One?
As Daniel Bentley, editorial director of Civitas notes in this Guardian article, “the data is bearing out what we feel anecdotally to be the case. […] Younger people are beginning to live with their parents for longer and are finding it more difficult to move out”. This trend has happened quickly. “[I]n 1997, around 25% of under-34s were living in their parents’ home, according to the Office for National Statistics. Today the figure is 32%” and for men is even higher (Guardian). Of those who do move out, they are far less likely to live alone than in the 1990s – “single-person households have dropped to 30% in recent years” (BBC).
It links to the housing and rental market. Young people simply cannot afford to live on their own - rents are very high and conditions are often poor. So, it follows that they stay at home. Simple.
The benefits of living with family include more time together (in what may be a more equal relationship to that of a parent and adolescent child) and financial freedom, meaning more money saved.
However, there are negatives too. Social lives can be impacted, especially if you end up living far away from friends and it can be hard to maintain relationships. What’s more, independence is restricted, as you have less of your own space. Often not mentioned is the impact on parents’ lives too. And whilst this living arrangement has become de-stigmatised, “there is a massive assumption that everybody has some parents who are owners they can rely on […]. But for lots of young people that isn’t the reality” (iNews).
Other Options: The Not So Obvious Ones?
There are also some not so obvious options on offer.
Similar to moving home is the idea of moving into someone else’s home to housesit. Often short term in nature, such housing is perfect for flexibility. However, there may be some rules at play - for example, the house can’t be left empty at night.
At lot of articles online like this one also talk of the rise in houseboats. The real benefit is that you can often find yourself in the city centre, in places that you wouldn’t be able to afford with a ‘normal’ property. However, downsides include difficultly in finding permanent moorings, especially in London, as those who have them keep them, which may mean moving about a lot. What’s more, it’s probably quite cold in winter! Nevertheless, I can imagine it being quite relaxing – that’s if you can swim. Find out more information on boats for sale online, via websites such as Apollo Duck.
And there are some living options at the more extreme end of the spectrum - including squatting, which occurs when a person, who is not the owner of a property, takes possession.
How relevant or attractive these options are, depends entirely on personal situation. The main takeaway is, I guess, that buying a house shouldn’t be seen as a rite of passage into adulthood – not least because it is not achievable for everyone. Just because you haven’t bought a property, doesn’t mean you are perpetually stranded in this liminal position between adolescence and adulthood. We need to detach the two from each other and understand that, more frequently, people are choosing to live in different, ‘unconventional’ ways.
