Rooms To Rent In Ayrshire

Renfrewshire's rents highest in Scotland after Edinburgh

Jun 28 2011 by Cameron Hay, Paisley Daily Express

PEOPLE living in council homes in Renfrewshire are having to pay some of the highest rents anywhere in the country, the Paisley Daily Express can reveal.

Latest figures show that the average weekly rent in Renfrewshire is £62.98 – nearly £20 a week more than in areas such as Moray or East Lothian.

It is also nearly £10 higher than in leafy East Renfrewshire.

The charges are so high that Renfrewshire is second in the league table of Scottish local authority rents.

Only council tenants in Edinburgh pay rent levels above those living in Paisley.

Last night, one Paisley councillor said he is “amazed” by the figures.

Labour man Eddie Devine, who represents Paisley South, told the Express: “Rent payers in Renfrewshire are paying more than those in East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire or any other local authority in Scotland, with the exception of Edinburgh – and, even then, we are only £9 a week better off.

“The unemployment rate in Renfrewshire is double that of Aberdeen, yet tenants there are paying less than tenants here.

“At the very time when many people are facing job losses and the economy is in crisis, the SNP think it’s okay to charge huge rents and to increase them at 4.5 per cent, year on year.

“The SNP administration needs to stand up for Renfrewshire – not punish our tenants.”

The average weekly rent for Renfrewshire Council tenants in 2011/12 has gone up by £2.71 compared to last year.

While people in Paisley pay an average of £62.98 a week, those in neighbouring East Renfrewshire are charged £54.44 and those in Moray only have to fork out £43.55.

The cost of living in a council-owned property in the likes of Renfrew, Johnstone or Linwood is also considerably more than it is to live in the scenic splendour of the Highlands, Aberdeenshire or Perth and Kinross.

However, Renfrewshire Council bosses have defended their rent prices and insisted that increasing the charges this year will help to pay for improvements to their housing stock.

Thousands of council tenants will benefit from new kitchens and bathrooms as part of a massive £138million investment to revamp homes across the Paisley area.

Houses to rent in Prestwick - Real Estate Rural

Anyone looking for houses to rent in Prestwick may be aware that this South Ayrshire town is best known for three things. The first is that Prestwick Airport is located here. The second is its fame as a golfing centre. The third is the story that it is the only place in the UK that Elvis ever set foot in, on a refuelling stop on a flight between Germany and the US in 1960. Here, as in other parts of Ayrshire and western Scotland, initiatives have been set up to build large numbers of affordable rental properties to keep up with growing local demand. As part of the regeneration of places and facilities in Ayrshire and the south-west, Prestwick Academy (one of four local schools) has been completely rebuilt, reopening in 2008. One of Prestwick's claims to fame is that it hosted the first Open Golf Championship in the nineteenth century. Although it has not hosted this landmark sporting event since 1925, this is prime golfing country, with famous golf courses in the vicinity, at Troon and Turnberry. Prestwick itself has three courses: Prestwick, St Nicholas and St Cuthberts. The airport, golfing, the Burns connection and the pleasing scenery jointly attract many thousands of visitors annually. As well as accommodation for local workers and longstanding residents, online searches will reveal a host of appealing holiday cottages and houses to rent, in Prestwick itself, as well as in surrounding villages and rural beauty spots.

The gazetteer of Scotland

The Farmer's magazine

House of Commons papers

Ayrshire miners' rows, 1913, evidence submitted to the Royal Commission on Housing (Scotland)

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