Private renting more expensive than ever before
19/09/2014
Rent has risen to an all time high of £761 a month, higher than a previous record set in October 2013, according to a survey from LSL property services.
Private sector rents are higher on average than they ever have been. Rents rose 2.4% in the year to August across England and Wales. The new rent data is revealed in a survey by LSL Property Services, which owns the Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents.
The survey also showed how tenants are struggling to pay their rents on time, with 8% of rents paid late or not at all in August, which is the highest level of people struggling with their budgets seen since last Christmas.
On a month-on-month basis, rents have jumped by 1.1% compared with July, according to the report, which is based on rents achieved on around 20,000 properties. LSL's records go back to January 2008.
There is now a fear “generation rent” will not be able to save enough money to buy a home, as average purchase price for a first time buyer has risen 8% in the last year to £147,726.
Even with this fear, this year there has been the highest number of first time buyers since November 2007. This could be due to first time buyer mortgages becoming more affordable: the average rate mortgage has fallen from 4.92% to 3.99% over the last twelve months.
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