Rent resentment: the housing social divide

As many young Londoners grapple with the fact they may never own a home, others are calling on the bank of mum and dad for help. Such privilege is souring relationships, says Maddy Mussen

- Maddy Mussen

W HEN Tiana decided to move into her best friend Lia's flat, she had no idea it would wreck their relationship, culminating in her coming home to find that the locks had been changed. The pair hadn't even planned on living in the apartment that was bought for Lia by her parents. There was a lodger and the rent money was an "investment" that went straight into Lia's savings account. But Tiana and Lia, aged 19 and 20 respectively, were struggling to find anywhere else to live in London. Suddenly, the lodger moved out, so into the rent-free flat they went. Except it wasn't rent free.

Not for Tiana, at least, or the other friend who took the third bedroom. Tiana worked six days a week in a burger restaurant to pay the rent, which went directly into her best friend's savings account - all the while trying to pursue a career in theatre.

"I really struggled to pay that, but also I felt very grateful that I had this big double room in a well-connected area with my closest friends, so it made sense. I knew where the money was going before I moved in, and honestly, I didn't mind at the time."

But it all ended acrimoniously. "Weirdly, the issues came from her resenting me," Tiana recalls. "We both worked in the creative industry and I think she found it difficult to be faced with the realities of what life is like for most of the population.

"She got to concentrate wholly on her career whereas mine got sidelined because I had to start working more than full-time to keep up with the rent and bills. Obviously, because she was my best friend I'd talk to her about my frustrations about my career and finances, which really blurred the line between friend and landlord.

"She saw my troubles as a direct attack on her and her lifestyle and she began to shut me out." Then, one day, that shutting out went from figurative to literal. The locks were changed without warning.