UK rents increased by 7.7% in the 12 months to March 2025, over twice the current level of CPI inflation.
Welsh rents have seen the steepest annual increase, at 8.9%; followed by England, at 7.8%; and Scotland, at 5.7%.
Meanwhile CPI inflation stood at 3.4% as of March 2025.
A December 2024 report from Zoopla found that rents for new lets are £270 per month higher than three years ago, adding £3,240 (27%) to the annual cost of renting since 2021.
Ben Twomey, chief executive at Generation Rent, said: “Everyone needs a safe, secure and affordable home, it’s the foundation of our lives. But renters across the UK are facing soaring rents which are swallowing our earnings.
“When we are forced to spend too much of our income on rent, the effects ripple across the rest of our lives. It means children are going to school hungry and older renters can’t afford to turn the heating on. High rents are trapping people in poverty and forcing them into homelessness.
“Price caps rightly exist for our energy and water bills, but there is nothing to stop a landlord suddenly hiking the cost of someone’s home. Thankfully, the government can and must act on this by introducing a limit on how much landlords can raise the rent, helping to slam the brakes on soaring rents.”
