Our friends left Brighton - the rent was too much

A family has said multiple friends have been forced out of Brighton by high housing costs - and that they are themselves struggling to afford a larger home.

Kelechi and Ikenna Ajiero live in a two-bedroom flat with their three children in a central area of the city, which they say they have outgrown.

"I feel sad that most of my friends have left Brighton, genuinely because of the high cost of living and particularly housing that is no longer affordable," Ikenna Ajiero said.

Average private rents in Brighton & Hove were nearly £400 higher than the South East average in May 2026, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Ajieros pay £1,300 per month for rent, which is below the most recent figure for average rent in the city for two-bedroom homes of £1,523.

But Ikenna Ajiero said they still spent about 55% of their income on housing and it was "not easy to keep up with it".

"It's an intentional thing, we do love Brighton," he said. "It's a trade off - we love to stay in but we have to pay something for it."

Kelechi Ajiero said her children had good friends in the city and she was "very keen" to bring her family up there.

"We've actually outgrown this apartment, we actually need more space for the kids," the social care worker said.

"But when you look at renting a bigger house, the prices are something else."

Ikenna Ajiero, a lecturer on the built environment at the University of Brighton, said: "The solution is get more social housing, more affordable housing."

The government said it was investing £39bn in social and affordable housing, which would "help support more key workers, including in Brighton, into the homes they deserve".

Authorities have long faced calls for the Brighton General Hospital site to be redeveloped into new housing in a bid to address the cost of renting.

Earlier in July, campaigners wrote to the secretary of state for housing calling for the site to be used for affordable housing.

The MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, Chris Ward, said affordable housing was the "single biggest problem that Brighton faces".

"We've got to build more homes, we've got to build more affordable homes," he told the BBC.

"In sites like this we've got to put people above profit."

Brighton & Hove City Council's deputy leader Jacob Taylor described the area as having a "really severe housing crisis".

"We as a council want to change that, and we want to change that by buying and building social housing," he said.

"At the general hospital site we have a site that potentially is up for development.

"We want that to be social housing to help with the affordability crisis, not the highest bidder private development."

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust plans to use funds from selling part of the hospital premises to fund a new health hub on the site, but this "can only go ahead if the sale generates enough funding".

According to the trust, NHS officials are in discussions with the city council and government housing agency Homes England.

"This is a complex project and, at this stage, the necessary discussions have not progressed far enough for the trust board to make a decision," the trust said in May.

The government said it was "committed to bringing forward surplus public land for suitable housing" and confirmed Homes England was working with the trust.

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Sussex on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.