Housing: Waiting lists spiral in Bristol as rents become increasingly unaffordable
“For every property we put on, we tend to find about 60 leads overnight.”
Adil Ayub has been an estate agent in Bristol for more than 20 years. We meet him and his colleagues as they open shop in St Werburgh’s, in the northeast of the city.
If they advertise a property in the evening, the work is essentially done by the morning: “By the time we get in at 9am, we’re already getting the phone calls and the leads we need to catch up with.”
The problem is so bad, not all properties are advertised online. Adil has a waiting list of hundreds of people, desperate to find somewhere to live in a city that’s becoming increasingly unaffordable.
The council here says Bristol is now the most expensive city to rent in outside of London.
Many of the reasons are the same as elsewhere in the UK – a chronic housing shortage, rising costs being passed on to tenants and many landlords simply selling up as buy-to-let becomes unprofitable, squeezing rental housing stock even further.
But Adil says the attractiveness of Bristol to outsiders is also a driving problem.
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Adil Ayub says the waiting list for properties is huge
“In Bristol, the guys that I class as born and bred Bristolians are having to effectively move out of the city where the rents are getting so expensive,” he said.
“In Bristol, we do have the dynamic employers and we’ve been awarded many accolades as a city, so it’s a fantastic place to actually be.
“Now we are getting talent from outside of Bristol which, often if you look at their average salaries, it is a lot higher than the guys here, so that’s one of the challenges we are finding for people – it’s very competitive at the moment.”
We join Adil’s brother, Uz, on a house viewing two streets down from the office.
We meet Ricardo Retamales and Chelcie Brewer-Retamales and their four-month-old son.
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Bristol renters face frenzied competition
The couple left Bristol a few years ago and moved to Newport, South Wales, because property was cheaper. With a new baby, they’re trying to move back to Bristol to be nearer to family.
Ricardo says finding somewhere is challenging: “We call agencies all the time, we’re scouring Rightmove and any time we call there’s genuinely no viewings available, or the property has gone before we even get a chance to look at it.
“That, coupled with the quality of property that isn’t that great either, so we are kind of in a tough place right now.”
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The three-bed house they’re viewing is on the market for £2,100 per month.
“Right now, it’s one of our salaries going purely on rental. That’s not including bills or nursery when the time comes – so half of our household income is going on that,” Ricardo says.
The couple’s search comes as the Office for National Statistics says private rental prices rose by 5.5% in the 12 months to August 2023.
There has been a sharp and continuous uptick in rental costs since the end of 2021.
London has had the highest annual percentage change, with the North East and South West following.
Bristol City Council wants to try to tackle the problem – and has asked the government for new powers so it can introduce a rental cap; a limit on how much landlords can increase rents.
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Average asking rental price hits record highs
“There needs to be an intervention,” Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees tells me.
“The way the housing market is going at the moment is not working for ordinary people. We have a situation in which hospitals and schools – vital employees – are struggling to recruit and retain staff, it’s a city that is becoming increasingly unaffordable to live in.”
He adds: “Fundamentally you’re looking at some kind of controls over the rate of increase in rents that people are paying… it has to be part of a national approach to housing.
“In Bristol wages over the past decade have gone up 24%, rents have gone up 52%. You cannot sustain that kind of situation.”
As I walk around the streets of St Werburgh’s there are thousands of homes – but I count fewer than three to-let signs – a sign of the market, and the real struggle people are facing in this city.
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
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Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
UK
Reward of £20,000 offered to identify parents of three siblings abandoned as babies over eight years
A £20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the identification of the parents of three siblings found abandoned in London over eight years.
The Metropolitan Police said that despite more than 450 hours of CCTV being reviewed, the parents of the three children, known as Elsa, Roman and Harry, remain unidentified.
However, it is believed their mother has lived in an area of east London “over the past six years”.
Elsa was believed to be less than an hour old when she was found by a dog walker on 18 January last year, in East Ham, east London.
In the months that followed it was found that she had two siblings who were also abandoned in similar circumstances, in the same area of London, in 2017 and 2019.
On Saturday, police said the independent group Crimestoppers had offered a £20,000 reward for information passed to the charity, which will expire on 18 April.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, of the Met’s child abuse investigation team, said: “We have carried out extensive inquiries over the past year to try and locate Elsa’s parents.
Baby Roman. Pic: Met Police/PA
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“This has involved reviewing over 450 hours of CCTV and completing a full DNA structure of the mother.
“We have serious concerns for the wellbeing of the parents, especially the mother, and are continuing to work closely with Newham Council and appeal for the public’s help for information.
“I believe that someone in the area will have been aware of the mother’s pregnancies and that within the community there may be (or) have been concerns for this mother’s welfare.
“Thanks to the DNA work of forensic colleagues, police will be able to eliminate any unconnected person quickly and easily, as such I would ask you to contact police with confidence.”
The baby was found at the junction of Greenway and High Street South in Newham. Pic: PA
Elsa was found wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag, of which police have also released a new image, and was kept warm by the dog walker. She was uninjured.
Police said at the time that it was “highly likely” that she was born after a “concealed pregnancy”.
The Boots bag in which Baby Elsa was found abandoned by a dog walker in Newham on 18 January 2024. Pic: Met Police/PA
The BBC reported that at an initial court hearing, East London Family Court was told it took doctors three hours to record Elsa’s temperature because of the cold, and the Met Office said that temperatures dropped to as low as -4C on the night she was found.
Hospital staff named her Elsa in a reference to the character from the film Frozen.
The police investigation into the identity of the children’s parents continues, and anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or post @MetCC ref Operation Wolcott.
People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at any time on 0800 555 111 or via Crimestoppers-uk.org.
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Ellis’ mum described him as ‘kind” and “funny. Pic: Merseyside Police
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
Read more from Sky News:
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Missing sisters made earlier visit to same bridge
Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
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