Renters continued to be squeezed by near-record annual rates as average UK private rents increased by 8.6 per cent in the year to June 2024, according to latest figures. It came as the new Government announced it would introduce a Renter’s Rights Bill, a move it says will protect renters struggling with their bills through the removal of no-fault evictions and providing avenues to challenge unaffordable rent rises.
The Government also promised to publish draft legislation on reforming leasehold and commonhold. The average private rent in Britain was £1,271 per month – £101 higher than 12 months earlier, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). While the rate of increase slowed from 8.
7 per cent in the 12 months to May 2024, average rents increased to £1,310 (8.6%) in England, and £959 (8.4%) in Scotland and by 10.
3% in Northern Ireland in the 12 months to April 2024, the latest data available. Within England, rents inflation was highest in London (9.7%) and lowest in the North East (5.
9%), in the 12 months to June 2024. In Wales, where the resignation of Vaughan Gething as First Minister has delayed the Welsh Government’s proposed white paper on fair rents and adequate housing from the summer to the autumn, average rent rose 8.2 per cent to £743.
A lack of rentable accommodation at a time of increased demand is driving the surge in rent increases. Experts do not believe rent inflation will significantly ease soon. The Royal Institution of Ch.