UK rents continue to rise as Brits turn to leasing over homeownership
UK rental prices have continued to rise over the past year, according to official figures, following a spike at the beginning of 2022.
The costs paid by tenants rose by 3.4 per cent in the 12-months to August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed today, up from 3.3 per cent in the year to July.
In London, costs increased by 2.5 per cent over the course of the year, up from 2.1 per cent in the 12-months to July.
The jump is the largest annual growth rate the ONS has recorded since it began tracking rental costs in 2016.
Growth in private rental prices were “broadly flat” between 2019 and 2020 and wound down at the beginning of 2021 during Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, which had seen many tenants move out of cities and into greener pastures.
“Remote working shifted housing preferences to mean workers no longer needed to live close to offices,” the ONS said.
Hans Christian Zappel, cofounder and CEO of real estate technology platform IMMO, said that as the cost to buy a home rises to “unaffordable” heights, more Brits’ will turn to renting.
“We all need a place to live, so we expect demand will shift from buying to renting, which offers more flexibility. Unfortunately, the shortage of good quality supply of rental properties doesn’t help the situation,” he said.
“There’s an urgent need for the government to look at controlling debt prices and consumer affordability, while at the same time, for professional landlords to start offering safe, affordable and quality rentals for the UK market.”