Queues outside letting agents, offering to do-up a landlord’s flat, and needing a guarantor for a guarantor are just some of the realities facing Manchester's city-centre renters.
While competition has always been fierce to secure a swish flat — especially in hyper-trendy areas like Ancoats — the spread of demand has now enveloped the entirety of town. And now, rents are surging.
Data from the council shows that the average monthly cost of a two-bedroom property in the city centre was £1,082 in April. That’s 9.8 percent higher than at the end of the previous financial year.
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The biggest hikes have been in Chapel Street West and Oxford Road South where rent has risen by 17.3 percent over the last year, followed by Piccadilly Basin. The stats show the city centre’s most expensive neighbourhood is Deansgate and Spinningfields — where a two-bed home is priced at £1,272 per month on average, followed by Owen Street and First Street at £1,237 per month.
Oxford Road North, where an average two-bedroom property costs £1,117 per month, is the only neighbourhood where prices came down in the last quarter. The cheapest neighbourhood classed as 'city centre' is Hulme Park and Birley Fields, where the average two-bed home is £852 a month, but that still represents a 12.6 percent surge in the last year.
For its part, the council has launched its housing strategy, which says the city must build 36,000 new homes across the next 10 years — with 10,000 being affordable housing. Following that, the MEN spoke to private renters on what it’s like to move during a rental boom.
One couple who came back to the city centre after living abroad are Joe and Rebekah. They last lived in Manchester in 2019, when they called the southern suburbs their homes.
“I was prepared for it to be a nightmare,” Joe said. “I was worried it would be difficult to get a viewing at a place, and in the week before [we came up to do viewings] we had a look, but were not able to get a viewing in advance.”
Joe adds that he and his partner did find a place to live in Castlefield — but put it down to ‘sheer luck’. He continued: “In the end we found somewhere quickly, but it was sheer luck. The listing was put online at 5:59pm on a Saturday, and they were closed on Sunday.
“Rebekah had to stand outside the office door on Monday morning and say ‘hi, we can put money down’. It was pretty crazy.”
Even then, there were more hurdles to overcome. Joe works freelance, so could not show he had a regular income in the same way a PAYE employee could.
He explained: “The technicalities were okay, I had to get a guarantor [as I am freelance], but he also had to get a guarantor as well, which was his boss.
“It’s expensive where we rent. In the rental situation I think we have a fairly good deal, it is still crazy in the grand scheme of things though. When we left Manchester in 2018/19 the amount we are paying now would have got a luxury condo place with a gym or concierge.”
Joe and Rebekah’s story of a double-guarantor and waiting outside their agents’ office is a sign of how far competition has grown — but it’s also affecting tenants trying to renew their leases. Among them are Stephanie Taylor and her partner Ben, who also live in Castlefield.
In order to minimise a proposed rent hike earlier this year, they offered to refurbish the flat they lived in at their own expense. Even though Stephanie is a full-time interior designer, they will still have to pay more.
She explained: “We did not want to lose our apartment, so we tried to come up with a deal with the landlord to keep the [rent] increase down and make it nicer. I am an interior designer.
“We said we would try and restore it and make it better and brighter, add new artwork, as well as repaint the main areas and design in feature colours — and keep the rent the same. [The landlord then said] his costs have increased too. He said it was a good proposal but wanted to go up by £50. We asked if he would contribute to the paint but he said no.”
The £50 per month increase means the pair pay slightly less than the average for a two-bedroom city centre apartment, at £1,000. Stephanie continued: “We’re taking it on the chin. We have got quite a good deal with what we have. We have two beds, two bathrooms, and two balconies, plus parking. It is £1,000 a month which I think is pretty good for Manchester.”
To combat the spiralling cost of rents — which can be tenants’ first concern before they even think about paying for energy and the cost of living — the town hall has set up its own development company, This City.
This City will aim to build 500 new homes a year, of which a fifth will be 'truly' affordable, with plans in place for the first developments in Ancoats and the Northern Quarter. The cost of renting many of these new homes will be capped at the level of Local Housing Allowance, aiming to make the newly-coined 'Manchester Living Rent' truly affordable to everyone in the city, even those relying on housing benefits.
Gavin White, Manchester City Council's executive member for housing and development, hopes the new project will boost the amount of supply in the housing system, which will help meet soaring demand — the driver of today’s high rents. He said: "Fundamentally, prices increase in any market because of supply and demand. Despite the growth of the rental sector in the city centre (and across the city as a whole), the rate of supply is simply struggling to meet demand as the city's population continues to grow.
"Increasing supply can help to stabilise and reduce rental prices. This is why our new housing strategy will support 36,000 new homes to be built over the next 10 years to help meet the ever-growing demand for homes in the city.
"And we're also committed to creating new affordable homes in the city centre. 3,000 new social and affordable homes will be built in the city centre alone (10,000 affordable and social homes across the city) in the next decade, with a mix of shared owner and rent to buy homes to help people onto the property ladder.
“This is alongside Manchester Living Rent homes through the Council's This City home building company and in partnership with the city's registered providers, which will help us build the homes our residents need."
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