Private rents increase by 2.5%
03/08/2015
Private rents paid to landlords rose by 2.5% over the last year, according to official figures from the Office of National Statistics.
In London, rents rose by 3.8% in the year to the end of June. The rest of the UK saw an average rise of 1.7%, which is the fastest rise for two and a half years. The figures also show that rents went up 2.1% in Scotland and 0.8% in Wales.
The rises in rent have overtaken inflation, which currently stands at zero.
Many housing charities have voiced their concerns over the rises, and believe the rents may continue to increase. Housing charity Shelter said the continuing increases mean that many tenants were now paying half of their monthly income to tenants.
Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said:
“When families are losing nearly half their income on sky-high rents each month with barely anything left over to save, how does the government expect to deliver their promise of ‘a home of your own’ for ordinary people?
“The answer is simple – only when politicians invest in building the genuinely affordable homes we so desperately need will they turn this crisis around once and for all. The upcoming spending review is their last chance to show they are serious about this.”
Housing campaigners have now urged the government to act by building more affordable housing.
Jane Tully, the head of insight and engagement at the Money Advice Trust, which runs National Debtline, said:
"While many households will be able to shoulder these increases in housing costs as the economic recovery continues, we fear that rent arrears will continue to increase."
Need financial advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
Loophole 'will improve Hips implementation'
A loophole in home information packs (Hips) could accidentally improve their eventual rollout, a property expert has claimed.Miles Shipside, commercial director of online estate agent Rightmove, made the claim about the terms of the controversial initiative's delayed introduction on August 1st.He argued that as sellers are obliged to have "commissioned" a pack to market a property rather than phys...
Read MoreHouse prices down 0.9%
UK house prices are now almost one per cent less than they were a year ago, following a seventh consecutive monthly decline.Data from house price information group Hometrack shows that the average price of a home in England and Wales fell by 0.6 per cent during April. This brought the average value of a home to £173,100 - 0.9 per cent less than it would have been worth in April 2007.Further evide...
Read MoreUK house building slumps to lowest level since 1953
The number of new homes being built in the UK slumped to its lowest level since 1953 according to statistics released today. There were just over 18,000 housing starts in the first three months of 2009 and while it was up 13% on the previous quarter it was down a massive 44% on the same period one year ago. However it is the near 50% reduction over the last 12 months which has caught the eye of ma...
Read MoreInterest rates bite house prices
Five interest rate rises in the last 12 months are beginning to rein in house prices, the latest research has said.According to Rightmove house prices rose 0.3 per cent in July, 0.5 points behind the growth experienced in June.The online property firm says that this is the lowest monthly rise its survey had recorded this year and contributed to annual house price inflation of 10.3 per cent.In June...
Read MoreFirst-time buyers turn back on parental help
More and more first-time buyers in Britain are choosing not to turn to their parents for help purchasing their first property, a new report reveals.Figures from bank Abbey show that just 9.7 per cent of first-time buyers expect to get financial help from their parents when they buy a home, down from 23 per cent at the same time last year.The number of first-time buyers expecting their parents to a...
Read More