Four-year trend of rising rents ‘shows no signs of abating’

Private rental prices in the UK increased by 1.1% in the 12 months to February, according to the Office for National Statistics.

On a monthly basis, the data shows that rents increased by 1%.

In England and Wales, private rental prices grew by 1.1%, and in Scotland private rental prices increased by 0.7% in the 12 months to February.

Meanwhile, the data reveals a subdued market in London, with private rental prices increasing by just 0.2% year-on-year, up from 0.1% in January 2019.

When the capital is taken out of the equation, UK rental growth improved to 1.5% year-on-year.

Tom Mundy, COO of property technology company Goodlord, said: "The trend of rising rents that we've seen since January 2015 shows no signs of abating, despite prices in the London rental market only rising 0.2% in the 12 months to February 2019.

"Whilst this is good news for landlords, wage stagnation means these rent rises are set to hit Generation Rent extremely hard.

“Despite record levels of employment, more and more young people are on course to become life-long renters, meaning every month we see rents rise is another month where a whole generation will feel the impact on their bank balance and their standard of living.

“To justify these increases I think now, more than ever, landlords and the wider market have an increasing responsibility to ensure the experience of renting is positive and enjoyable for everyone involved.”

The co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen, believes that broadly speaking, the annual rate of rental growth across the UK remains at its most palatable for the last three years, however these consistent uplifts, regardless of how marginal, continue to put pressure on the already strained cost of living for tenants across the nation.

He commented: “Rents remain higher than they were this time last year and so far in 2019, we’ve seen an uplift in the rate of growth which will no doubt continue as we approach the impending ban on tenant fees. As a result, the rental sector continues to strain under the overwhelming demand as many remain unable to make the financial leap to homeownership.

“So far a consistent attack on the buy-to-let sector has only exacerbated the issue and with the Government now turning their focus on letting agents, it’s a certainty that we will see lost revenue passed onto tenants under various guises with rents continuing to increase as a result.”

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