'I had no spare money when I was renting in Leeds - which made it feel impossible to save up for a house'

Sophia Harris, 35, has now secured a house in the city – but said it might not have happened if it wasn’t for a lucky pay-out that gave her a boost.

She described the challenging obstacles faced by renters, including trying to scrape together savings with exorbitant rental costs, huge deposits for homes and the hidden costs like lawyer’s fees.

It comes as National World today launches a campaign highlighting the plight of hard-working young renters across the country who feel unable to buy their own homes as a result of various pressures, including the cost of living crisis.

Sophia was previously living with three friends in a £1,000 a month rental property in Meanwood when she was made redundant by the bank she worked for.

But that came as a blessing in disguise, because it meant that she was entitled to a hefty pay-out as she had been employed there for several years.

“It’s crazy that losing my job is what gave me this lump sum – and helped me to get the mortgage to buy the property,” she said. “Had that not happened, it would have been very, very difficult.

“If you’re renting nowadays, with the huge cost of living and the price of food rising, as well as bills, it is near impossible for people to save the amount they need for a deposit. And it’s only going up.”

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Sophia, a successful nutritionist and food relationship coach based in Leeds, recently bought the property in the city with husband Oliver, an electrical engineer.

According to research by Zoom Property Buyer, a company that buys properties across the country, the average house price in Leeds was £235,647 in June 2023. That was an increase of almost a quarter since January 2020 - the fifth highest increase when compared to other big cities in the UK.

Sophia said that trying to save for a deposit with increasing budgetary pressures – as well as hidden costs in the process of purchasing a house – are what makes saving so difficult.

She explained: “Let’s be honest, we all want to live our lives – and I don’t think anybody should have to save for six years and never be able to go out and socialise.

“If deposits were cheaper, that would really help. Solicitors fees and administration costs is the other big thing. It was something like £12,000 for this property.

“On top of the deposit, that makes it near impossible. People have in their minds that they only need to save for the deposit, but when they get to that point, they realise that there are lots of other fees included as well.”

Sophia added: “I didn’t have any spare money when we were renting at all. And with how expensive everything is getting, I think more and more people are going to be stuck in that trap.”

What is Project Peter Pan?

Today National World's 17 city world division news titles are collaborating to launch Project Peter Pan: championing the lost generation.

Project Peter Pan - launched as the UK heads toward a general election in 2024 - aims to use our collective local media power online to give a voice to those in their 20s and 30s who have negotiated a pandemic, work hard and are ambitious, yet are lost.

They told our reporters they are frozen out of the housing ladder and stuck in a rental cycle often in substandard accommodation or they are in debt and facing impossible decisions.