London rents accelerate as amount of payments in arrears increases
London rents grew 6.3 per cent year-on-year in December, according to figures released this morning.
The rate of growth was the joint-fastest for a calendar year since 2011, estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains said.
Across England and Wales, rents rose 3.4 per cent on the year, the fastest rate of calendar-year growth for four years.
Christmas was tough for some tenants, with the amount of rent in arrears rising to 9.3 per cent of total rent in December from 8.2 per cent the month before. Arrears were also up from 9.2 per cent in December 2014.
Rents rose fastest in the east of England, climbing 7.8 per cent.
“Such growth in rents is a mixed bag. The fact that the majority of tenants can afford higher rents is certainly good news, and should be seen as a positive indicator as we enter 2016,” said Adrian Gill, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains.
“Yet over the longer-term, higher rents also raise a serious challenge for the future affordability of housing in this country. Everything else will need to keep up.”