Rents outside London rise to an average of £1,190 a month as tenants battle over a lack of properties to rent out
- Rents rose by 9.4% last year while supply increased
- In London, the average rent passed £2,500 for the first time
Rents outside London have reached an all-time high of £1,190 per month according to the latest data from Rightmove.
Rental costs outside the capital have now risen for 13 consecutive months as supply remains limited despite signs of improvement.
Rental growth outside London has slowed slightly over the past three quarters.
Monthly expenses rose 9.4 percent last year, compared to annual growth of 9.7 percent in the last quarter of 2022.
Rents in Britain have risen by an average of £100 per month over the past year
The increase adds about £100 to the average tenant’s monthly costs, costing them an extra £1,2000 a year.
An important reason for this is that demand increased by 48 percent in 2019, while the number of available homes fell by 46 percent in the same period.
The number of available rental homes is now 6 percent higher than last year, but at the same time demand has risen by 4 percent.
In London, average rents asked surpassed £2,500 for the first time, setting a new record of £2,501 per month. There are signs that the pace of rent increases is also slowing in the capital, as this quarter’s 0.9 percent increase is the lowest in two years.
Tim Bannister, of Rightmove, said: ‘We’ve seen some early signs of improvement this year with regard to the tight supply, but as there is currently no significant influx of new homes available to rent, the mismatch will continue for some time. .
“Many estate agents have to manage a very large number of tenant applications for every property they rent out in today’s market.
“Properties in popular areas within an affordable demand rent range of that area are likely to be snapped up almost immediately, and on average, homes are finding tenants much faster than this time in 2019.
“While there are some early signs that the gap between supply and demand is starting to narrow, it will still feel very competitive for renters trying to get a home.”
There are only five parts of Britain where rents for tenants have fallen over the past year, exclusive data for This is Money shows.
Rents have risen across the country for 13 consecutive months, although the rate of price growth is now slowing
Burnley, Lancashire, saw the biggest fall in asking rents with prices falling an average of 7 per cent to £620 a month.
By contrast, in Buckinghamshire’s High Wycombe, rents were up 22.4 per cent over the past year, adding £240 a month to the average rent in the area.
Tenants in Farnham, Surrey saw their rents rise 21.9 per cent over the year to £1,491 per month.