The latest HomeLet Rental Index has revealed what the average rents were across the country in February, both including and excluding London, and how much they’d risen over the past 12 months.
Last month, average rents across the UK rose by 1.2% compared to the previous February, bringing the average tenant’s bill to £906 per month. However, taking Greater London out of the equation brought the average rent paid each month down to £758 month for the average household, which was a 1.6% year-on-year rise from February 2017.
The highest annual increase in rents was seen in Scotland, which saw a huge 5.5% hike last month from the previous year, from £597 up to £632. This was followed by Northern Ireland, which saw rental prices go up by 4.3% over the same period, from £604 to £631.
Top performers
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Topping the list for England, the East Midlands saw rents boosted by 3.9% to £619 a month, while the West Midlands had a 2.5% rise to £676 – both still under the national average. Both regions have seen significant investment in recent years, which is set to continue after the government committed more money to the areas recently, and this is reflected in the rental performance of the regions, as well as house prices.
London’s rents only increased by 1.1% in the year to February, but they remain 69.6% higher than the UK average, with tenants paying around £1,537 a month. It has one of the weakest rent to income ratios at 31.8%, compared to the north-east with 22.5% affordability and the north-west with 26.7%.
In a HomeLet market survey of landlords, however, 31.1% said that they did not plan on increasing the amount of rent on any of their properties, while only 18.7% said they were planning on upping their prices in the next 12 months.
