0:01 AM, 21st August 2025, About 5 months ago
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Private rents across the UK have surged, reaching an average of £1,343 per month to July 2025, the Office for National Statistics reveals.
This reflects a 5.9% rise over the past year, a slight slowdown from the 6.7% increase recorded in the 12 months to June.
The data marks the seventh consecutive month of falling rent price inflation.
In England, monthly rents climbed to £1,398, a 6% jump, while Wales saw a sharper 7.9% increase, bringing average rents to £807.
Scotland’s rental market experienced a modest 3.6% rise, with rents averaging £999.
Northern Ireland reported a 7.4% increase to May, pushing average rents to £855.
The ONS says that within England, the North East faced the steepest rent inflation at 8.9%, while Yorkshire and the Humber saw the smallest uptick at 3.5%.
Meanwhile, the UK’s house prices also witnessed growth, with average prices rising 3.7% to £269,000 in the 12 months to June.
That’s up from a 2.7% increase in the previous year.
England’s average property price reached £291,000, a 3.3% increase, equating to a £9,000 rise.
Scotland saw a robust 5.9% increase, lifting prices to £192,000, an £11,000 gain.
Wales recorded a 2.6% rise, with homes averaging £210,000, up £6,000, though this was lower than the 4.5% growth seen previously.
Northern Ireland’s house prices in the second quarter of 2025 stood at £185,000, a 5.5% increase from the same period in 2024, adding £10,000 to the average cost.
Gareth Atkins, the managing director of lettings at Foxtons, said: “The London lettings market remained red hot in July.
“Despite a modest uptick in supply, applicant demand surged by 25% month-on-month, resulting in over 18 applicants per available property.
“This sustained pressure has driven rental prices upward in line with seasonal trends, and we expect this momentum to continue for the rest of the summer.”
Sarah Coles, the head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Runaway rent inflation is flagging like a parent at the tail end of the school holidays.
“Stratospheric rent rises of around 10% have given way to a far less strenuous 5.9%.
“Some of the easing in rent rises has been caused by a slight reduction in the number of new tenants, priced out by rising rents, which continue to climb ahead of average wages.”
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “Improved access to mortgages is helping first time buyers buy homes and easing the demand for rented homes alongside lower levels of migration.
“Rental growth is slowing and set to move lower over the rest of the year as affordability acts as a growing brake on rental growth.
“House prices inflation is volatile on the ONS measure but remains below the growth in average earnings which is helping to slowly improve affordability.”
Louisa Sedgwick, the managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank, said: “Continued moderation of private rental growth is a positive sign but monthly payments remain at a level that will stretch many tenants.
“This is because rent inflation has swelled significantly from 1.0% in the first quarter of 2021 to a record high of 9.0% seen at the end of 2024. This correlates with increased demand seen since the pandemic.
“It is crucial then that supply matches demand, something that will persist, fuelled by a range of factors including more people living alone or entering higher education, in addition to projected population growth, more broadly.”
Alex Upton, the managing director of specialist mortgages at Hampshire Trust Bank, said: “Rents are still edging upwards, but there are signs that tenant demand has eased slightly over the summer.
“Propertymark’s latest Housing Insight report shows new tenant registrations in June fell to their lowest level in years, and the supply-demand imbalance has softened.
“There are now six applicants per property on average, compared to nearly 10 at points last year.
“Even so, a modest slowdown doesn’t change the underlying picture.
“We are still significantly short of the rental stock needed to meet demand, and that structural gap will keep upward pressure on rents for the foreseeable future.”
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