Glasgow flat prices are on the increase again and something has to be done

Another year, another mass exodus of students searching for flats. With Glasgow's history of raising rents year-on-year, 2019 looks like its going to be no different as students wallets are squeezed even further.

After coming from the brink of bankruptcy from the eye-watering rent prices of Murano student village, I was looking forward to drastically reducing my rent and (hopefully) improving my overall quality of life in a second year flat.

Despite shaking the funky smells, fungal growths and meteoric dish piles we endured in halls, we discovered very quickly that flats were still going set us back a significant portion of our SASS and wages. Luckily, we got a relatively good deal of £380 each per month for a small flat in Partick, which was around 20 minutes walk from the main campus.

We thought we had it bad in halls, just want her back x

Just as we started to think this price was stable, our rent increased to £400 for the next year, and then to £425 the following year. We tried to get a property for a similar price that year but to no avail. Any property that was available was either too far away, or in an appalling condition.

However, the price that we were offered was still a far cry from the £500+ prices of many of the flats nearer to the university.  This has lead to many rental properties being advertised that exceed £1000 per month for non-HMO rentals. Even properties 20-30 minutes from the university are still rarely below £850 per month.

As a result there has been a huge increase in private accommodation companies around Glasgow – however these expensive alternatives are not a viable financial option for your average undergrad.

Private accommodation on Kyle Street behind Glasgow Caledonian University is going for an excess of £607 per month, and the Vita Student Rooms in Partick for between £660 to £700 per month. While the quality of these rooms is much higher, it is often at the expense of fostering a social life or being close to the main campus.

This is a bitter pill to swallow for existing and new students. Prices still fluctuate drastically with distance from the centre and the west-end, but renting is quickly becoming an out of reach luxury for many people. The big question is has the surge in rent costs improved the standards of these properties?  Will it go up even further in years to come? And will some of us be left out in the cold because of it?

In order to be a "good tenant," I decided not to take any pictures of my own flat, for fear that my landlord might respond with an eviction notice and an angry email. Our rent also hasn't increased as drastically as others, so I can forgive some loose floorboards and a leaky ceiling. Instead, I decided to evaluate my brothers eight bedroom flat, which is only five minutes from the uni library. In the last three years, the property has gone from an already steep £410 to £475.

The flat is very typical of most student properties, a bit messy, loosely carpeted and has an aroma that only us young adults can produce. The tile flooring was cheap, inadequate and carelessly put down. The landlord also had some inventive ways of preventing mould from growing in the flat, which included boarding up the bathroom window and smashing open a wall to expose a leaking pipe.

Apparently resorting to hurricane protection measures is how you stop flora and fauna spawning in the bathtub. However, this didn't stop stray mushrooms from growing in parts of the communal spaces, and I don't think these ones could go in your rigatoni. The tenants also insisted that the flat was so cold in winter that they went to bed fully clothed – parkas and all.

While I found this particular anecdote amusing, it spoke volumes about how little concern there was for insulating or double glazing the property despite the ever-increasing price tag. Only recently did the landlord fix a hole in the kitchen floor that you could fit both feet into, but this was only after weeks of nagging and persisting.

DISGUSTING

At least in my brothers case the landlord did attempt to fix the major problems – if in sometimes unconventional ways. Yet the reality is that many people don't have that luxury. My own landlord hasn't even visited my flat to fix our issues, despite the hikes in price and incessant emailing from our end. Even though their personal involvement in the flat is minimal, they still have the audacity to increase the prices year on year.

In another friend's case, an overflowing toilet remained unfixed which led her and her boyfriend needing to make use of supermarket and bar toilets for a weekend. This problem was only alleviated by the toilet fixing itself, as the letting agency never responded to her calls. For city centre flats which can go for in the excess of £650 a month for one-bed properties, this is unacceptable and also extremely unsafe. This is just one instance of the worrying complacency from the landlords that have a legal responsibility to look after these properties.

'Awk it's fine lads, a wee bit of mould, damp and vermin won't kill you'

As landlords laugh their way to the bank, many are discouraged in living in Glasgow and reaping the benefits of its social life. There was a time when the increased cost was worth it because of the vibrancy of the city and the opportunities it offered, but rent prices have gone far beyond this to the point of total exploitation. Landlords believe that most students will just take it on the chin and pay up not matter what, but that soon won't be the case if prices continue to go up year on year.

If the current trends continue, many more Scottish students will have to commute from home, excluding them the increased independence and ease of a social life they so desperately desire. If this is not possible they may have to opt for increased part-time work hours to accommodate for the hike, which brings with it increased stress and less time for studying and socialising. This doesn't even account for International students and those living in other parts of the UK who will have no choice but to pay more.

At the very least, Glasgow landlords should be increasing standards with these staggering price rises, something which is yet to happen in many cases. Otherwise, it will have a knock on effect on all aspects of student life, and devalue all but the property owners wallets. If you believe as strongly in this issue as I do, help spread the word and feel free to comment on your own property disasters or extortionate prices below.

Featured image credit: Postdlf