Tenants Paying More Rent, but Rate of Rising Slows

The cost of renting a private home is rising, but the rate of increase is slowing, according to official statistics.

To the end of October 2017, buy-to-let and shared house rents rose by 1.5% - down from 1.6% in September. 

Private rents in England and Wales both went up by 1.5%, but those in Scotland only increased by 0.4%. London is also lagging behind the rest of England, with rents rising by 0.8%. 

The Office of National Statistics figures shows a trend of slowing rent rises since the end of 2015. 

The 1.5% average increase means a private tenant paying £500 a month rent in October 2016 now pays £507.50.

“This slowdown in the growth in private rental prices in Great Britain is mainly driven by a slowdown in London over the same period,” said the ONS report. 

“Rental prices for Great Britain excluding London increased by 1.9% in the 12 months to October 2017, unchanged from September 2017. The 0.8% growth rate for London in the 12 months to October 2017 was 0.7% below that of Great Britain.”

Since January 2011, private rents have jumped by 15.3%, explained the report, pushed along by strong growth in London.

 “When London is excluded from these figures, private rental prices increased by 11.4% over the same period,” said the ONS.

The highest rent increase was 2.9% in the East Midlands, unchanged from September. 

The lowest was in the North, where the North East added just 0.2%, down from 0.4% in September, while the North West was unchanged at a 1.3% increase. 

Rents in Wales have seen the fastest growth since 2011, the last time the annual rate of change hit 1.5% in the country. 

Read the complete ONS Private Housing Rent Index for October 2017