UK rent prices up 9% in record yearly rise, says ONS

UK rent prices have seen a historic 9% surge over the past year, with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reporting the highest annual increase since it started tracking in 2015.

Every region experienced hikes, with London rents escalating by 10.6%, pushing the average rent there to £2,035 monthly.

A spokesperson stated that the proposed Renters (Reform) Bill aims to achieve a more equitable situation for both tenants and landlords. Typical monthly rent increases ranged from 8.8% in England to 10.9% in Scotland, and 9% in Wales, respectively costing tenants an additional £104, £93, or £60 per month. Although Northern Ireland's data is slightly outdated, a 9.3% rise was noted up until December 2023.

Despite London having the nation's steepest rents, the ONS identified Bristol as England's priciest rental market outside the capital, with an average monthly fee of £1,734. Meanwhile, UK house prices dipped by 0.6% year-on-year to January, but less steeply than the previous month.

An ongoing rise in rent prices since 2015 has intensified since 2022, partly due to landlords' increasing operational costs and adjustments to match local market rates, as indicated by both ONS research and a Statista survey.

The National Residential Landlords Association's Ben Beadle pointed to a housing shortage as a key driver for rising rents and urged the chancellor to introduce tax measures to promote more rental housing availability, echoing the advice of the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Acknowledging renters' cost-of-living challenges, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities highlighted the significant growth of the private rented sector and reaffirmed the Renters (Reform) Bill's commitment to offering a better deal to both tenants and landlords.

The proposed legislation, which awaits passage through the House of Commons, notably aims to eliminate no-fault evictions by the next general election.

However, there are concerns over potential dilutions of the bill's protections for renters, as recent draft amendments caught the attention of the BBC. Despite these concerns, the government maintains that the bill will indeed abolish section 21 evictions.

One tenant, 63-year-old Gill from Surrey, relayed her struggle with multiple section 21 notices and rent affordability, especially now that she is battling cancer and faces increased living costs.

Polly Neate, Shelter's chief executive, criticized the dire state of private renting, attributing it to a lack of affordable housing, giving landlords the upper hand to raise rents without fear of losing tenants. She urged the government to fulfill its promise to renters by passing a robust Renters (Reform) Bill to ban no-fault evictions.