How do we fix the housing crisis? Welcome to The i Paper’s opinion series, in which our writers share their experiences of the UK’s dysfunctional housing system and examine how we can fix it.
The cruel bargain of only being able to buy a house when a loved-one diesThe UK’s new rental scandal that no one is talking aboutThe ‘spinster’ housing crisis can no longer be ignoredThere’s nothing attractive about being a landlord anymore
When I get home from university around 6pm, the first thing I notice is the quiet. My last place was next to a constantly rattling train track. Here, I walk through the door and the building breathes differently. Almost every evening, there’s the smell of someone’s dinner cooking. It takes me straight back to my mum’s. I didn’t expect any of this. But then, I didn’t move here for the obvious reasons.
The rent was only part of my reason for moving here. My last flat in south London cost me £900 a month for a room, before bills. Here, taking that into account, I’ve almost halved my bills. But it wasn’t only that. I’d spent many years working with and mentoring young people. Outside of my family, I’d never spent proper time with older people. There was something about that gap that felt worth closing, and moving into a place that asked something of me felt like a way to actually grow up.
