Tenants finding rent payments harder to afford – ONS

More people are struggling to pay their rent or mortgage in the UK, as housing costs have risen sharply in the past year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals.

According to the latest ‘Public opinions and social trends’ bulletin, 40% of adults paying rent or mortgage said they were finding the payments ‘very’ or ‘somewhat difficult’ to afford.

This has increased from 30% during a similar period last year – while last month, the ONS said it was 45%.

Among rent and mortgage payers, 47% said their payments had increased in the last six months. That was compared with 33% a year ago.

Rent prices continue to grow at record high rates

The ONS also reported that private rent prices continue to grow at record high rates in the year to August 2023.

Private rents rose 5.4% in England, 6.5% in Wales and 6.0% in Scotland, in the 12 months to August 2023.

An ONS spokesperson said: “Overall, UK private rental prices increased 5.5% in the year to August 2023, up from 5.3% in the 12 months to July 2023.

“This is the largest annual percentage change since this UK data series began in January 2016.”

Private rental prices in London – which accounts for almost a third of UK rental expenditure – increased by 5.9% in the 12 months to August 2023, above the England average and its highest annual rate since records began.

Average UK house price was £290,000 in July

The average UK house price was £290,000 in July (provisional) which is £2,000 higher than the same month a year ago, but £2,000 less than the recent peak in November 2022.

House prices in England also increased by 0.6% in the 12 months to July 2023, while annual house price inflation was slower in Scotland, at 0.1%.

Property prices in Wales fell by 0.1% in the 12 months to July 2023.

Of the English regions, the North East saw the highest annual house price inflation of 2.7%, down from 5.7% in the year to June 2023.

Average house prices in the region remain the lowest of all English regions at £163,000.

Lowest annual house price inflation

The South West saw the lowest annual house price inflation of any English region, with prices decreasing by 1% in the year to July 2023.

London was the only other region where prices fell.

According to data from Pay.UK and Vocalink, average monthly mortgage payments made by Direct Debit have been rising steadily, from £718 in December 2021 to £880 in September 2023.

However, the proportion of mortgage payments made by Direct Debit which failed because of insufficient funds last month was the highest since May 2023.

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