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0:01 AM, 6th November 2023, About 6 months ago 8
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Private rents have soared in England and Wales over the past year, according to a new report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The report, based on data collected from February 2022 to September 2023 as ONS researchers revisit privately rented properties,
They do so, on average, every 12 months in England or nine months in Wales to track rental price changes.
For properties revisited in September, where a property’s rent had gone up, the average percentage increase was larger in Wales (10.8%) than in England (9.4%).
The head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, Sarah Coles, said: “We’ve seen devastating rent rises, as more landlords sell up and tenants multiply.
“Since the last visit, almost two-thirds of English landlords have hiked the rent and almost half of those in Wales have too. And those rises are eyewatering.”
She added: “Where rents have risen, they’re up an average of more than 11% in Wales and almost 10% in England.
“In England and Wales, one in five properties have seen rents rise 10% or more since the last visit, and in London this rises to one in four.”
Ms Coles continued: “The rental market is getting squeezed on all sides. Landlords are under rising pressure.
“They face tougher rules that mean they pay more tax on the way in, as they go along and then when they sell.
“More rights for renters mean landlord costs are increasing, which means they make less money.”
She added: “Meanwhile, those who have borrowed to invest are facing rocketing mortgage costs when they come to refinance.
“Some of those who stay in the rental market are switching to short-term lets and Airbnb for a better yield.”
Ms Coles pointed out: “Tenants, meanwhile, are multiplying. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors checks the number of people looking for rental property each month, and it has been rising relentlessly for months.
“A combination of more people renting later in life, more living alone, and an increased desire for self-contained space after the pandemic have all helped boost these numbers.”
She adds: “Making the leap from renting to buying is harder than ever.
“Rising rents make it harder to free up cash to save, while much higher house prices mean we’re aiming for much larger deposits.”
According to the ONS, rents had risen by 10% or more for around one in five properties revisited in September in England and Wales.
Of all English regions, London had the highest proportion of properties revisited where prices had risen (76.2%), while the North West had the lowest (54.6%).
However, the average percentage price increase for properties revisited was highest in the North West (12.3%) and lowest in the South West (7.8%).
The ONS report suggests that the rising rents in the PRS reflect the high demand and low supply of homes to rent in England and Wales.
ONS statistician Aimee North said: “Our Index of Private Housing Rental Prices measures changes in average UK private rental prices for the entire private rental sector (PRS) dwelling stock.
“The sample of UK properties includes new lets and existing lets.
“This enables analysis of properties that have faced rental price increases, decreases and remained constant.”
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45 Minutes with Mark Alexander on The HMO Podcast
Fergus Wilson
10:51 AM, 6th November 2023, About 6 months ago
It is supply and demand!
If landlords are selling up HMG needs to ask why?
Silly mandarins in Whitehall who come up with crackpot ideas and do not foresee the consequences for people who cannot afford to purchase!
Michael Holmes
10:55 AM, 6th November 2023, About 6 months ago
I wonder if 600,000 immigrants in 1 year has anything to do with this?
Shining Wit
12:01 PM, 6th November 2023, About 6 months ago
There has been a 'cost of living crisis' recently - with headline inflation running at over 10%.
The Bank of England Base Rate has been increased by even more (0.1% to 5.25%) which has had an even bigger impact on mortgage payments (although the full effects have fully rippled through to all BTL LL).
LL can only increase rent ONCE in a 12 month period, so many are now having to increase rates significantly just to 'stay afloat'.
The current situation is an unintended, but entirely predictable, consequence of recent events.
Even if the recent changes in supply/demand hadn't happened, rents would have been rising....
northern landlord
17:24 PM, 6th November 2023, About 6 months ago
Ah statistics again. If according to the ONS, rents had risen by 10% or more for around one in five properties revisited in September in England and Wales then four out of five rents have not increased by 10% or more, so 80% of tenants are actually being insulated from inflation by their wicked landlords. Why are rent rises always reported as a “hike”. As I understand it a hike is an unfair price rise which rent rises are not. It’s just part of the now ubiquitous anti PRS landlord rhetoric where tenants are not evicted they are “kicked out” as if the landlord had sent the boys round to “chuck people onto the streets” instead of enduring a year long delay waiting for the courts. The Government are just scapegoating landlords in a smokescreen to cover up their own incompetence. Once the scapegoat landlords have gone what then? Who will be the next scapegoats?
Easy rider
21:47 PM, 6th November 2023, About 6 months ago
That inflation thing again.
Car insurance up 61%.
Rod
15:12 PM, 8th November 2023, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Easy rider at 06/11/2023 - 21:47
The latest Tim Martin / Weatherspoons report included an appendix in which Spoons countered various urban myths.
It seems that the PRS need to take a similar approach to the negative, scapegoating treatment meted out by the media, politicians, local government and tenant groups.
A quick read of the latest English Housing Survey presents a more accurate view of the PRS
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2021-to-2022-headline-report/english-housing-survey-2021-to-2022-headline-report
Roogy
7:47 AM, 11th November 2023, About 6 months ago
There’s one glaring omission from this article regarding the increasing number of people looking for rental property - the high level of immigration - 600,000 last year alone, one of the reasons we have such a housing crisis.
philip allen
15:49 PM, 11th November 2023, About 6 months ago
Reply to the comment left by northern landlord at 06/11/2023 - 17:24Hopefully 'Shelter', who will be asked, "Why are you not 'sheltering' these people?"