Credit: Wikipedia
Reporter
The city centre’s average rent is £920 while the G12 area code is £1,196 per month.
An online index tool has calculated that several residential areas in the West End of Glasgow hold the highest level of rent prices on average income across the city.
The index, created by window furnishings company Thomas Sanderson, determined that in the G12 area code in Glasgow, which contains residential areas like Hillhead, Kelvinside and Hyndland, the average individual would spend around 47% of their income on rent costs.
Most other areas in Glasgow do not come close to the G12 ratio, with areas like G3 and G1 being higher than most other area codes, but remaining close to 10% lower than that in G12. According to this index, average rent prices in G12 supposedly average at around £1,196 per month, a fair amount greater than the city centre where the average is £920.
Speaking on the issue of rent affordability, a 2019 Scottish Government publication has stated that while there is no universally recognised acceptable ratio, various independent bodies cite anywhere from between 20% to 40%. This would put the G12 ratio above average. In the RICS UK Residential Market Survey for January 2020, various contributors argue that the increase in rent prices for Scotland are attributed to such causes as high demand, especially for high end properties, increased supply of properties as economic fears from Brexit begin to subside, and the general seasonal impact lessening as Glasgow moves out of winter.
Problems with rent prices are however not concentrated solely in Glasgow’s West End. Writing for Scottish Housing News in February, Principal Solicitor and Solicitor Advocate for both Govan Law Centre and Govanhill Law Centre Mike Dailly spoke on how the average rent prices for privately-owned properties in the Greater Glasgow area has risen by around 40% in the past nine years; over double the rate of inflation.
In an article written by Dailly for Scottish Housing News, a daily newsletter about affordable housing in Scotland, he wrote: “The Scottish Government’s action on fair rents hasn’t worked. It’s irrelevant.”
Dailly has now shown support for a new proposed bill aimed to restrict the inflation of private rent prices in Scotland. The bill, proposed by Labour MSP Pauline McNeill and dubbed the “Mary Barbour Bill”, in reference to the Scottish political activist of the same name who took part in the Glasgow rent strikes of 1915, would also give tenants greater power to challenge unfair rent prices, and also hold privately rented properties to tighter health and safety regulations. It is hoped that if this bill is passed that it should positively affect the rate at which rent prices for private properties increases annually.
While rent prices have been steadily rising over the years, Glasgow is still deemed comparatively more affordable than other UK cities. According to property website Zoopla, the average rent prices across Glasgow stand at around £664 per month, which is substantially lower than the £952 average for Edinburgh or even £696 for Stirling. Glasgow also stands much lower on the rate of inflation compared to other cities like York, Leeds and Bristol, according to Zoopla.
