21st
Jul 2021
Government figures show that in real terms residential landlord rents are in effect falling.
The Office for National Statistics’ data show that from June last year over the last twelve months PRS rents rose by 1.2 per cent.
Taking measurements of inflation with the lowest increase from the consumer price index including housing costs at 2.4%, the overall rent increase of 1.2 per cent is much lower.
Across the UK rents rose by only 1.1 per cent in England and 1.5 per cent in Wales with Scotland at 1.2 per cent.
The regions which enjoyed the best yearly growth in rents were the East and West Midlands with 2.4 per cent, however London was the worst hit as rents dropped by 0.1 per cent which in real terms is 2.4 per cent.
The fall in rents when equated in real terms is in spite of private rental housing stock demand being far higher than supply. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ figures state that over the next twelve months landlords’ rent will increase by 3 per cent because of demand for rental homes outstripping demand.
A spokesperson for a trade body, said:“[These] figures burst the myth that landlords are hiking rents by as much as possible and demonstrate that market forces are the biggest influence on rent levels. It is clear also that the trend of renters moving out of the capital in response to the pandemic continues.
“That said, demand for privately rent homes continues to outstrip supply and without further efforts to meet that demand, rents will continue to rise. The government needs a strategy that properly recognises the importance of a thriving private rented sector in which tenants have genuine choices over where they rent.”
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