UK rents increased by 1.3% in 12 months to August 2019

Rents paid by tenants in the private rented sector in the UK rose by 1.3% in the 12 months to August 2019, unchanged since May 2019, the latest official index shows.

In England rents increased by 1.3%, in Wales they were up by 1.2% and in Scotland rents rose by 0.9%, according to the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Excluding London rents increased by 1.5% in the 12 months to August 2019, unchanged since January 2019 and in the capital they were up by 0.8%, the data also shows.

Growth in rents in the UK have generally slowed since the beginning of 2016, driven mainly by a slowdown in London over the same period. Rental growth has, however, started to pick up since the end of 2018, driven by strengthening growth in London.

Focusing on the long term trend, between January 2015 and August 2019, rents in the UK increased by 7.9%

The annual rate of change for Northern Ireland at 1.9% in July 2019 is higher than the other countries of the UK. The Northern Ireland annual growth rate has remained broadly consistent at around 2% since 2018.