Average Rents Rise in Majority of UK Regions in April

Rents rose on an annual basis in a majority of UK regions in April, as surveyed in a recent rental index by insurance provider HomeLet. The index recorded a rise in average rents of 2 per cent across the UK as a whole in the 12 months to April.

As a result, the average monthly rent grew to £936 per month in April, compared to £918 per month in the same period last year. Rental inflation has remained in positive territory since the spring of 2017, according to the rental index.

However, on a month-on-month basis, the index estimated rental values dropped by 0.6 per cent. HomeLet’s findings came two months after Rightmove claimed London asking rents were rising at their fastest rate since 2012, as reported in a rental trends tracker.

Soaring rents in South and Midlands

Rents grew in 11 of the 12 regions surveyed, with the North East registering the only regional decline of 1.1 per cent on an annual basis in April, as estimated by the index.

The South East registered the fastest growth in rents, where they rose 3.2 per cent. As a result, renters in that region found themselves paying an average monthly rent of £1,031 in April..

Greater London had the most expensive rents of any region. Rents in the capital increased by 1.8 per cent on an annual basis, rising to £1,617 per month. This meant that Greater London renters paid almost twice as much rent as the national average. The rental index estimated the average rent across the UK was £936 per month.

Rent-to-income ratio holds steady

Household rent held steady as a proportion of income across the UK in April, according to the index. The typical UK rent was equivalent to 30.8 per cent of income in that month, having remained stable, as compared to the same period in the previous year.

In Greater London, where the ratio was at its widest, the rent-to-income ratio fell slightly, from 35.7 per cent in April 2018 to 35.3 per cent in the same month this year.

The North East region recorded the lowest rent-to-income ratio and saw its ratio fall from 23.9 per cent in April 2018 to 23.1 per cent in April this year.