Average UK private home rents have increased 6.3% in the last 12 months, now standing at £862 per month compared to £811 a year ago, according to the latest HomeLet rental index.
It also shows that the North East of England, Scotland and Wales offer the most affordable rent when comparing rental prices to average tenants’ incomes in the regions,
Overall it says, the average cost of renting a home in the UK has risen so quickly in some locations that Greater London, the South West and the South East of England are pushing the bounds of affordability.
While this figure was inflated by very large rental increases in Greater London, where rents are up by 11.2%, rents have risen year on year in 10 out of 12 regions of the country, with only the North East of England and Scotland seeing minor falls in rental prices.
The London market continues to race ahead with the average monthly rent in Greater London being £1,412, compared to £694 for the rest of the UK, excluding London, meaning that London rental prices are now more than double those of the rest of the UK for the very first time.
When comparing average rental prices to average tenants’ incomes, Greater London represents the least affordable rental market in the UK, with the average tenant’s gross income being just 2.23 times the average annual rental.
Other regions feeling the squeeze on affordability are the South West and South East of England with the average tenant’s gross income being 2.55 times and 2.93 the average annual rental value in the respective regions.
‘The private rental sector continues to show strong growth with rental values increasing year on year across the country, with little exception. Although average incomes have also been rising, there are parts of the country where we are seeing affordability getting tighter,’ said Martin Totty, Barbon Insurance Group’s chief executive officer.
‘As a rule of thumb, for a rental property to be affordable, a tenant’s gross income must be at least two and a half times his or her annual rent. Our data shows that rents in London have pushed beyond that boundary, with the South East and South West of England close behind,’ he added.
A breakdown of the figures shows that the annual variation in average rental value in Greater London is 11.2%, in East Anglia it is 6.4%, in Wales 4.7%, in the South West 4.6%, in the South East 4.4% and the West Midlands 4.3%.
The North West saw a variation of 2.9%, Yorkshire and Humber 2.2%, Northern Ireland 2% and the East Midlands just 0.2% while there was a decline of 2.3% in the North East and 3.8% in Scotland.
‘The options for Londoners who are looking to rent in the capital are often to consider sharing their home, or seeking a guarantor to secure the tenancy. Alternatively, tenants looking for more affordable rental properties and a greater parity between incomes and rents could consider looking further afield to other regions of the UK such as the North East of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. These regions currently offer comparatively good value for tenants and may, as a result, see growing demand in the months to come both from tenants and from landlords looking for profitable places to invest,’ added Totty.
