How has the pandemic affected your ability to pay your rent or mortgage?

Since the start of the pandemic our landlord has not increased the rent, however this month we were emailed to say that the rent will be increasing by £300, well above what other similar rental properties in the area are advertised at. The landlord says that he is facing extra costs and is no longer profiting from renting the property (I find that difficult to believe!). All of our bills have increased recently and although I have had a pay rise with inflation this will be consumed by the bills. My partner is currently paying off a huge debt and can't afford to pay extra for at least two years. I have explained this to my landlord but I think we will have to move further out to the suburbs, away from friends, family and work. Sometimes I think about leaving London altogether, I have lived here all my life and I feel safe in London, it makes me sad to think I might have to leave it behind in a few years. I wish rents were controlled by the local government and not greedy lettings agents and private landlords.

We have just been served a Section 21 notice to leave the home we have been in for what will be 2 years. We do not pass affordability checks (we pay ourselves a very small salary from our company and have no disposable income while the business goes through tough times. We take extra out as repayment of loans to the company when we need it). Which means we have to pay each year's rent in full in advance, plus a month's deposit, plus the useless new holding deposit of a week's rent. As we will have to arrange the new home before getting kicked out of the current place, we will not be able to use the deposit that was paid there. Last time we moved it was after a Section 21 notice after 6 years in the place. The housing market is broken. Waiting for market corrections is no good for the people going through the pain as it happens.

* Ability to pay monthly rent and bills changed entirely due to physical & emotional break down in October 2020 (horrific houseshare for 1 year, legally bound, no help from private landlords). Until now, not enough recovered to take on a fulltime job. Additional knowledge: Equality Act2010 applies.
* Debt occurred over last 1.5 years due to ongoing challenges. Savings gone.
* Currently live with the parents. Without their support, I would have most certainly ended up on the streets of London, despite being well educated academian.
* Sensere help to find my feet again in London in a save area for women close by University.

The pandemic has not affected my housing situation. It has affected me in other ways though. I was previously travelling out of NW London to Watford every day for work. This took 2.5 hours there and back. I was over 65 so I had free Oyster travel on tube and overground. From the beginning of the pandemic, I started to work at home. This has given me back 2.5 hours. There was no change to my pay or work routine. You could say that it worked out well for me. I work in IT so being home based is possible. My wellbeing has not been too badly affected, but I do miss seeing my colleagues. Six months ago I changed jobs to a specifically home-based role. I think this would not have been countenanced before the pandemic. My new employer is located far from home and I am unlikely ever to go there. Being home based suits me and financially I am in a better position now than before, mainly because I have been unable to spend hugely since the first lockdown. There is some work on the house that needs doing but builders are so busy at the moment that the work will have to wait, and the cash will have to remain in the bank.

The pandemic has been a blessing for me (to an extent) because I've been working two jobs and made incredible progress towards saving for a house deposit of £20k. I intend to stop working two jobs shortly.

However, as I look towards the future though, I'm starting to see that my options as a single person are actually quite limited given my caring responsibilities and desire to buy a home that will "grow" with me and my changing needs.

The issue is that a lot of flats these days have extortionate charges associated with them before bills are even considered. For example, I've recently seen a development where: the mortgage will be £1000 per month. Service charge will be £130, central heating maintenance is £30 and parking charge is £140. On top of that, council tax is likely to be around £150. Total of £1170 per month. Given that a number of these charges are likely to increase over time, I am concerned that my wage (from what will be my full-time job) will not keep up! Again, I haven't even taken into account utilities.

I appreciate the fact that I'm probably in a more fortunate position that many Londoners, but it's a little disheartening to know that aftermonths of working myself to the bone, home ownership is still quite a considerable way away.

It is looking like I'll be living at home for the foreseeable future, although after the pandemic ... The space is much needed! Being a carer for ageing parents and trying to have meetings has been a nightmare.

P.s. Whilst there are perks living at home, I am the highest income earner and therefore, a considerable proportion of my salary goes on bills and council tax! So, it may be a little easier but I'm still responsible for the financial welfare of 3 adults (including me!)

Sorry to be boring but I own my home outright. Of course this was thanks to parents and their parents. I think the pandemic has made them aware of their own mortality. They are very keen to help me refurbish my kitchen even though it's already been done. They wrote off my debt so I have more to invest in my future, retirement, and unexpected property expenses like pest control.

This winter the rats have moved into my loft again. I live in a terrace cluster so their nest is probably from an infestation next door. During the pandemic my neighbours from hell moved out which is nice so I can broach the subject with my new ones.
My improved financial situation is due to changes to universal credit, and the HMRC assistance for self employed, which have now reverted to normal. My savings have hit £16000 for the first time so with good timing I ended my universal credit benefits claim.

My quality of life has improved over the pandemic.

As mentioned above, the main support I need is the rat catchers. Councils have had cuts and Barnet no longer offer a public rat catchers service. This effects my loft insulation and I have to pay for it all myself privately.

I live in a poorer area of London but as I am a home owner I am stuck there. I would therefore like my area to have a good community and acceptable environment without too much over-development or car congestion.

My business had a paid staff member and I have been unable to recruit a new one over the pandemic, nor have I taken a job offer, because having to choose between insecure terms and conditions, or my own business that I do not want to neglect.

As a gardener I work in people's homes. The pandemic makes people value their home and spend more time at home. My poorer and more vulnerable customers have really suffered and I've had to leave them to their own devices. I do not have a risk assessment and regulations as to whether to wear masks entering people's homes for work, are now optional.

As a household we have two incomes and both have been able to work from home, except my site based work. This has saved our monthly travel fees of £300 as a family. Our roles have both closed our offices permanently and we are now predominantly home workers, however we cannot afford a home with enough space to provide working from home other than our kitchen table and have therefore decided we must leave London after being here for 10 years and move back the suburbs of Manchester. Our neighbourhood is lovely and has had an increase in community spirit and caring for its own. However the council have stopped maintaining the area- not looking after the parks, emptying bins, removing flytipping or undertaking street cleaning. We have also felt increasing more like the councils are taking advantage of us through schemes such as Low Traffic neighbourhoods which offer no tangible reductions in emissions but do deliberately catch their residents out to make money from. Public transport has also reduced over the pandemic making going out in central London impossible.

I decided to return to frontline work in domestic abuse support, having been the full time carer for my autistic daughter and severely mentally ill sister for many years.But I was better off on benefits. I'm now in a l ot of financial debt. I am in arrears with utility bills and I am constantly worried about money. I am always ill because I can not afford to have the heating on all the time, my flat is now mouldy and yet I have no time to sort any issues because I'm constantly busy with work. The local council do not repair damage caused by mould so I would have to foot the bill.

My quality of life has deteriorated coz I eat less healthy food and sleep much much less due to stress and worry. My disabilities are worse, I am in constant pain.
The support I need is for social care and voluntary sector to reopen services of support, so that the people I care for with enduring mental health can access help and ease the pressure on me. I need the health services to go back to normal so that I can be seen and my mobility issues added. Finally more pay for frontline workers across all sectors

Both rent and service charges have increased significantly in 2020 and 2021; additionally council taxes have also gone up markedly. The suspension of the triple-lock and the freezing of Personal Tax allowance will further impact the ability to pay rent.
Savings are under pressure from poor returns and increasing inflation and this is likely to get worse.
Quality of life is affected by having to be more careful when spending; taking less trips away; managing credit cards more strictly, enjoying less activities generally. Is that what retirement was meant to be?

I am in the fortunate position of having paid off my mortgage well before we knew anything about COVID. However I do not feel smug. I am not wealthy and inflation threatens again. I have many friends who do not enjoy my good fortune and worry about housing costs and security. I worry that generations growing up behind me may never have the chance of their own home or a secure long term tenancy. New build is cramped and poorly designed even compared to my early Victorian 2 up 2 down, and too many are into buy to let to make a fast buck. Rental accommodation should be secure in the long term, well maintained and affordable. Under the present system this is not the case and major reform is needed to get to a system which offers this.

To be honest, I am more impacted and at risk because of the still in getting my building EWS1 certified right now than anything having to do with Covid. That’s the scandal.

Rent or mortgage are not the issue but charges from the local authority. A local authority that has taken over a year to respond to an email, and yet sent me a letter threatening legal action.

I own a flat which I rent out, since I had to move away and I rent where I am currently living. My flat is on a 150year leasehold (approx). My frustration is that the terms of my leasehold prevent me from providing my tenant with a more than 1 year lease ... I want to be able to offer my tenant the option of having a longer lease term if it will provide them with security of tenure, but I am prevented from doing this - I think it should not be allowed for freeholders to impose a 1 year maximum.

The housing associations are irresponsive to the shared ownership tenants while over 3/4 of the service charge we paid are for the so called "management fee". Recently we even discovered that they have been charging significant amount of money from us for a so-called concierge service that they forbade us from using. We have been paying higher service charge than most new builts in the same area, while we do not have any benefits that other have. Some of the residents tried to obtain expense receipts from the housing association to understand how exactly was the service charge spent, but it has been over 6 months with more than 10 times follow-up emails to various contacts inthe housing association, with not a single reply. These housing associations really need to be regulated and audited properly.

I cannot afford to pay the Private Rent and I am struggling and constantly worried. I moved from an Unfit Rented accommodation where Notices were served on the landlord to somewhere that is still using all of my savings and needs Repairs to the Building. I need to be housed in Social Housing urgently.

Before the pandemic, I was working as a supply teacher. When we locked down and everything went online; supply teachers were first to be 'let go'. Even now, most schools, even if there are staff shortages, rarely hire supply teachers in London as they are 'concerned' about the number of contacts we have if we are short term supply.

As a result my savings are non-existent and i am relying on credit cards to make ends meet.

Furlough scheme did bi help people like me. We needed financial help and 'rent breaks'. We still had to pay service charges and council tax for services we couldn't use because of the lockdown. That money, rightfully should be returned,

I've been living with relatives since April 2009 so have some security. However I want to move out of where I live in London to Surrey or Hampshire as I find that quality of life is better in such areas. I do not have confidence in the London Mayoralty to change how expensive London can be in terms housing et al with the TfL crisis showing up how badly the Mayoralty (including, but not limited to, Sadiq Khan) has used transport as a political football.

I'm in my 40's now and have lived in London for the bulk of my life with the occasional month or two spent living elsewhere. As such, London life doesn't appeal to me in the same way that it appeals to someone younger than myself.

We all need support.
I am 36 years old, living in London, woman, single, I manage 3 private clinics and I have an ok salary of 40K per year. However to live in London (close to one of the clinics) a studio cost me half of my earnings per month.
I cannot get mortgage to buy shares ownership because my income is to low.
So or your earn 90K per year or you will never be able to have a place here.
I pay £1300 rent + bills.
It is ridiculous…
It is half of my money per month just in rent

lost my job 4 days before the official 1st lockdown as my company panicked more than boris johnson did, so i received no furlough and had to pay the next 6 months out of pocket before my contract was up. i moved into a flat my father owns so i don’t have to pay rent and can just focus on my own bills.