Rents have hit record levels, with the average monthly price now at £1,314 outside of London, an increase of 7 per cent on last year.
In the capital, tenants are paying an average of £2,661, new data from Rightmove shows, 4 per cent higher than last year.
Renters have seen prices soar in the years following the pandemic, as demand for private rental properties has massively outstripped supply.
Regionally, the North East has seen the biggest year-on-year change with rents up 10.3 per cent, followed by the West Midlands at 9.3 per cent.
Specific parts of the UK are experiencing rents increasing faster than others. In Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, prices have shot up by 30.4 per cent in the last year.
Meanwhile in Blackburn, Lancashire, the average asking rent has climbed by 18.1 per cent while Batley in West Yorkshire has seen prices increase by 17.1 per cent.
Leeds, Corby, Clacton-On-Sea, Preston, Wellingborough, Widnes and Lichfield are also among the areas where rents have increased the most in the last year.
Separate research by Citizens Advice exclusive to i found that 52 per cent of private renters have faced a rent hike in the last year.
On average rents increased by £50 a month, but one in five renters said they had been asked to pay £100 more. Some 11 per cent of renters said they were being asked to find more than £200 extra every month.
‘I was worried I wouldn’t be able to feed my children’
Over the last year, Citizens Advice said it has seen a 107 per cent increase in private renters asking for help with rent increases.
One of those who has gone to the organisation for help is mother-of-three Hayley (not her real name) who has been in emergency accommodation for eight weeks with her partner and young children after they were turfed out of their home.
Hayley and her family were served a Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notice after they complained to their local environmental health team about dangerous mould in the property.
The 25-year-old had been scared about the impact that living in a cold, damp and mouldy home would have on her children’s health and had repeatedly raised her concerns to the letting agent.
“There were thick, massive black circles of [mould] on the bedroom ceilings and walls. It caused my children to get eczema and other skin issues – whenever the mould flared up on their bedroom walls, their skin would flare up too. They’d cough and cough throughout the night,” she said.
Hayley said the family was “totally ignored” whenever they tried to contact the estate agent, and the problems went unfixed.
Despite the lack of improvements to the property, she would receive a letter each year telling her the rent was increasing.
She told i that she would simply accept the rent increases because she was “anxious and nervous that if we said ‘no’, we were going to get evicted”.
When the family were evicted, they struggled to find anywhere else they could afford – especially as they did not have a guarantor who could be added to a rental agreement.
“Nobody will work with you. Nobody will make any compromise,” Hayley said.
Rental properties in her area are upwards of £1,300 a month for the size the family needs, and at that price Hayley says she wouldn’t be able to feed her children and would have to rely on food banks.
She has been left in a “massive state of anxiety” and remains in the emergency accommodation with her children aged one, three and five years old.
Demand still too high
One of the problems compounding the rental crisis is the lack of properties available.
Rightmove said the number of enquiries each property is receiving from would-be tenants is now 17.
This is down from an average of 26 at this time last year, but it is still more than double pre-pandemic levels and means there are still a large number of tenants competing for each property.
Industry insiders reported an explosion in demand and a huge increase in rental prices between 2021 and 2022, with the effects still being felt now despite things beginning to level out.
Rightmove said the slowing down of enquiries is driven by more rental properties becoming available and fewer tenants looking to move.
The number of available properties is currently 14 per cent higher than this time last year, while tenant demand is down 16 per cent.
Lucy Beasley, lettings manager at Jones Robinson in Newbury, said: “Recently, we have observed an increase in available properties coming to market, but we haven’t noticed much of a reduction in demand from tenants which remains robust.
“Rents are still high for many, and we have noticed that larger properties sometimes need to reduce their prices to secure tenants.
“While rents are showing a slight decrease this year, they are still above where they were two years ago, with many tenants facing an affordability blocker when looking for homes to rent.”
‘Government needs to do more’
Rental campaigners and estate agents are now calling on the Government to go further to make renting more affordable.
It was revealed in the King’s Speech last week that a Renters’ Rights Bill will come into force providing enhanced protections for tenants, including through banning no-fault evictions and allowing renters to challenge rent increases.
The Government also set out measures to start a building boom by shaking up planning rules – something that is hoped will increase housing supply.
Rightmove’s director of property science Tim Bannister said more changes need to be implemented, including encouraging landlords to invest in good quality homes through tax changes and incentives to help with energy-efficient upgrades.
“We need landlord investment to increase stock and help achieve a healthier supply and demand balance in the market,” he said.
“Support for both tenants and landlords will be key to achieving long-term stability in the rental market.”
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