Exclusive: Millions of London tenants should brace themselves for rent increase of £1,000+ this year
Millions of Londoners who currently rent in the capital face an increase in their housing costs of more than £1k this year.
As energy bills climb and the cost of living crisis rages, London remains by far the least affordable region of the UK rental market, with the average tenant currently paying £21,140 per year.
The capital’s tenants will see this cost increase by a further £1,140 per year over the next 12 months, according to rental platform Ocasa, which shared its new findings exclusively with City PM this morning.
But while London renters are paying the highest price to rent, it’s those in the North West that could see the sharpest increase between the current cost of renting and the cost required in 12 months time.
On average, tenants in the North West currently pay £10,452 per year in rent. However, this cost is set to increase by £1,504 by next year.
In just 12 months, the average UK tenant could be paying £800 more a year in rent.
Following a turbulent pandemic period, the UK rental market is back on track and the analysis of rental market shows that the average UK tenant is now paying £12,936 per year for a rental property.
This annual cost of renting has already climbed by £1,032 since this time last year and Ocasa predicts that it could increase by a further £803 over the next 12 months. This means the average tenant would be required to pay £13,739 a year to rent a home.
The East of England could be set to see the third largest hike in the annual cost of renting, climbing by a further £898 to a total of £13,426 per year.
In the South West, this increase in annual rental costs is estimated to hit £790, while Ocasa also estimates that renters in the South East (£750) and East Midlands (£717) will be required to pay over £700 more a year in rent.
While those in the North East stand to see the lowest increase in the cost of renting, the average annual cost of renting in the region could still climb by £617 in just 12 months’ time.