Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK increased by 1.3% in the 12 months to May 2019, up from 1.2% in April 2019.
In England, private rental prices grew by 1.3%, Wales experienced growth of 1.1%, while in Scotland private rental prices increased by 0.8% in the 12 months to May 2019. The weaker growth in Scotland since 2016 may be due to stronger supply and weaker demand in Scotland, as reported by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).
Focusing on the English regions, the largest annual rental price increase was in the East Midlands (2.1%), unchanged from April 2019.
The annual rate of change for Northern Ireland (2.1%) in March 2019 was higher than the other countries of the UK. The Northern Ireland annual growth rate has remained broadly consistent at around 2% since 2018.
London private rental prices rose by 0.9% in the 12 months to May 2019, up from 0.5% in April 2019, its highest annual growth since September 2017.
Co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen, commented:
“We’ve seen a notable increase in the number of UK households in the private rental sector over the last 10 years in particular and this growing dependence has been the driving factor behind a consistent increase in rental costs, as demand continues to outstrip the supply of suitable properties available.
This hasn’t been helped by changes to the sector which have deterred buy-to-let investment to a degree, and the latest introduction of a tenant fee ban could see rents climb higher as letting agents pass lost revenue costs onto the landlord.
While the build-to-rent sector is going some way in addressing the supply of new rental properties, more must be done to help a sector that is currently buckling under the weight of a nation that is largely dependent on it to put a roof over their head.”
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