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Figures from estate agent Hamptons show that UK residential rents rose by an average of 12% in August, the largest annual increase on record.
London led the way, with a year-on-year rise of 17% to £2,332 per month, meaning tenants in the capital have experienced double-digit rent rises in 16 of the past 18 months.
Nationally, landlords pushed average monthly rents for new let properties to £1,304 in August, the biggest annual increase since Hamptons started tracking the data in 2014. As rising interest rates cause mortgage payments to increase, rental costs rise sharply.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Every month has brought new rental market records,” adding that rents across the UK have risen more in the past year than in 2015. increase from 2019 to 2019.
Continuing rises will increase pressure on Westminster to tackle the rent crisis. A blame game erupted within the ruling Conservative Party over the weekend after renter reform bills to end “no-fault” evictions in England were delayed again.
Some supporters of the bill claim the crucial second reading in the House of Commons is being stymied by vested interests in the government whips’ office, where five of the 16 whips own rental properties.
A source in the whip’s office rejected the suggestion as “ridiculous”, insisting instead that any concerns about possible flagging reflected those of the “broader parliamentary party”.
A sharp rise in house prices in London has put the capital at the forefront of a nationwide battle over rising renting costs, which has become a major cost-of-living pressure for millions of households and prompted calls for political action.
London’s Labor mayor Sadiq Khan has once again called for urgent government action, including giving him the power to freeze rents in the city. “The national crisis in the rental market clearly requires further government action,” Khan’s office said.
It added that the government should increase housing benefit and “invest £4.9 billion a year to deliver the affordable housing London needs”.
The Conservatives and the main opposition Labor Party, which hold a commanding lead in opinion polls ahead of a general election next year, have previously said they are unlikely to introduce powers to impose rent controls.
“The evidence shows that private sector rent control does not work,” the government said, adding that it was investing billions of dollars in affordable housing and that families struggling with housing costs could access a range of financial help.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of campaign group Generation Rent, said rent controls and an increase in welfare payments were needed to “give tenants some breathing space while building more to address potential shortages”. He also called for council tax reform to stop “homeowners[hoarding]more space than they really need”.
Rents are rising faster than wages, leading to affordability constraints. The median London renter pays 30% of their gross income, the highest level for at least five years, according to a 12-month rolling average compiled by DataLoft. Excluding the capital, average UK rents cost a quarter of income.
In Scotland, where the government has capped increases for existing tenants at 3%, rents at new let properties have risen by a record 13% year-on-year as landlords try to squeeze in as much rent rises as possible between leases, Hamptons said.
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