Rents rise in UK with market showing no sign of slowing down

Rents have risen once again in the UK. A survey conducted by HomeLet showed that in December 2019, rents had risen across the whole of the UK.

Allaying suggestions that the BTL sector is slowing down in Britain, the survey also found that demand for rental homes is continuing to outstrip supply and that the market is showing no sign of slowing down.

According to the HomeLet survey, in December 2019, the average rent in the UK reached £953, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year.

When London is taken out of the equation, the average rent across Britain was £793pcm, a 3.9% increase on 2018.

In London, the average rent currently stands at £1,630 per calendar month, a 2.1% year-on-year increase.

HomeLet’s research showed Wales as the region with the largest year-on-year increase, boasting a 9.7% rise from December 2018 to December 2019.

Martin Totty, HomeLet’s chief executive, spoke of the increasingly buoyant rental market in Britain.

“Rental price growth has been on an upward trajectory since mid-2017, driven primarily by an acceleration in the regions outside of London.”

“Demand for rental properties is not showing signs of slowing down, with the Office for National Statistics reporting the number of households in the sector rising from 2.8 million in 2007 to 4.5 million in 2017 and that the age of renters has slowly increased over the same time period. The sluggish dynamics of the sales sector may have limited opportunities for those people looking to make the move from renting to home ownership, driving demand further for rental stock,” Totty continued.

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