Figures from the private rented sector specialist show that the average UK rent is now £1,243 per calendar month, 1.1% up from last month and 10.3% higher than this time last year. Omitting London, the average rent now stands at £1,037, 1% more than June 2023 and 9.4% higher than last year.
In the capital the average rent is now £2,109 a month. This is a 1.5% increase from last month, and 12.9% higher than in July 2022. In Barking, Dagenham and Havering, rents are 17.9% up from this time last year.
Every region has seen an annual rent increase, with Scotland showing the largest, up 15.8% since July 2022 to £973 a month.
Even the UK’s cheapest region to be a tenant – the North-East – has seen costs for tenants increase, with rents up 1.8% from last month to an average of £636 a month.
The trends reported within the HomeLet Rental Index are from data on actual achieved rental values for just-agreed tenancies arranged in the most recent period.
HomeLet and Let Alliance chief executive officer Andy Halstead said:
“We’re edging closer and closer to a situation in which a large portion of potential tenants are simply unable to live, which is a dangerous situation for the market to be in.
“It is worth saying that extreme rental prices does not equate to all time high margins for landlords either. Landlords being unable to rely on rental income is a terrible scenario.
“The North-East has been out of kilter with the rest of the UK in recent months with few price rises. However, July 2023 has seen even the North-East rise 1.8% to £636 PCM. The nationwide skyrocket in rent and mortgage increases is proof that no one is winning, when will it be put to a stop?”
