Average rents rise 8.5%

Private rents have continued to increase across the UK, albeit at a slower pace, hitting a new high of £995 per month in September, research shows. Following six months of annual rent price increases of 10 per cent plus the latest HomeLet rental index reveals that the average price paid in rent slowed to an average annual increase of 8.5 per cent across the UK in September. Strong demand from tenants and an undersupply of properties have continued to place upward pressure on rents, with nine of the 12 UK regions analyzed seeing rent prices increase on an annual basis in September, led by gains in Scotland at 8.4 per cent, followed by the East Midlands at 7.7 per cent and Greater London at 6.6 per cent. In contrast, rents fell by 4.6 per cent in the North West, were 2.2 per cent lower in East Anglia and dropped by 1.4 per cent in Northern Ireland. Martin Totty (left), Chief Executive Officer of Barbon Insurance Group, parent company of HomeLet, said, “Affordability is an important factor in determining rents. Depending on what happens with inflation and real incomes over the coming months, could have a bearing on future rental price…