Data released from Rightmove shows that average rent prices across Britain (excluding London) have hit a new record. The average asking price now stands at £1,126 per month – representing an 11.8% rise compared to last year and 19% or £177 more than when the coronavirus pandemic started.
There continues to be an unbalanced level of supply and demand within the rental market as the shortage of available stock remains the main catalyst for rising prices. London has seen a 15.8% increase over the past year – pushing the average asking rent price to a record £2,257. However, there is hope prices could be ready to drop after June saw the highest number of new rental listings in the market this year, but available stock still remains 26% down compared to 2021.
This comes amidst the recent rental reforms from The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The published white paper changed the renting rules to ban ‘no-fault’ evictions and make it easier for tenants with children and pets to rent a property.
Alongside this, a new property portal has been introduced, allowing tenants to view information about their landlord’s obligations and be able to hold them responsible for these – a move intended to resolve problems early and reduce court battles. Renters’ rights will also be strengthened in relation to health and safety, aligning the sector with the Decent Homes Standard and intending to eliminate a number of common hazards. Michael Gove, Levelling Up and Housing Secretary, justified the change by saying: “For too long many private renters have been at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords who fail to repair homes and let families live in damp, unsafe and cold properties, with the threat of unfair no-fault evictions hanging over them. Our new deal for renters will help end this injustice.”
David Hannah, Group Chairman at Cornerstone Tax discusses:
“Over the past couple of years we have seen a substantial increase in UK rent prices which has made it more difficult than ever for renters to find an affordable property.
“There is hope that more available properties will enter the UK housing market – thus causing a more manageable supply and demand level and subsequently halting the rapid rise of rental prices. I think homeowners will look to take advantage of the record house prices and look to maximise the prices they can get if they sell their property, causing an increase in supply for the UK property market.
“Hopefully, a solution to global supply issues will cause an increased supply of new builds, providing the UK housing market with some much-needed extra stock, which should subsequently halt these rapid rises.
“In terms of the recent rental reforms, I am in favour of rogue landlords being driven out of the markets, but there are also good landlords who have bad tenants that need to be considered. The most important thing is to balance tenant rights against tenant obligations and ensure that landlords keep some of their authority.
“There are cases in which properties have been damaged and tenants refuse to let their landlord inspect the home, or where rent has not been paid for a considerable period of time, for example. I welcome the recent change of the renting rules, and agree tenants need protection, but landlords ultimately need rights too.”
