Rent gap between London and rest of UK grows

The void between the pace of yearly rent rises in the capital and the rest of the UK has grown again, according to data from the latest HomeLet Rental Index.

After shortening during the summer months, the gap widened in the third quarter of 2015, with rents up annually by 7.5% year on year in London and 3.5% in the rest of Britain.

Capital gains

On average, tenants in London paid £1,560 per month, over £800 more than the rest of the UK. For the second consecutive month however, rents are rising most quickly in Scotland, where a 9% rise was recorded.

With the pace of rent rises slowing over the Autumn months, rent inflation has grown in nine of the twelve regions. The only exceptions were the North West of England, where rents were down by 4.9%, Northern Ireland (-2.1%) and East Anglia (-1.2%).

In addition, the October index shows new views from tenants about the rental market. Results show that a number of tenants are renting their home for the long-term and that value is placed on a good relationship with their landlord.

Rent gap between London and rest of UK grows

Trust

64% of respondents said that they wanted to continue renting for one year or more, with 90% saying that they were happy with their landlord. This said, 71% noted that they would prefer to own a home, with 66% believing that saving for a deposit is the greatest barrier preventing this.

Martin Totty, chief executive of HomeLet parent company Barbon Insurance Group, said, ‘our survey showed that many tenants ultimately aspire to own their own home, but that just over half of them aren’t actively saving for a deposit yet. 66% of those questioned said that a deposit wasn’t affordable for them.’[1]

‘However, the positive news is that almost nine out of ten tenants told us that they were happy with the standard of their current rented property and the majority of tenants told us they were happy with the service provided by their landlord or letting agent. Whilst we are seeing upward pressure on the rental market it’s important that the sector continues to drive professional standards forwards for mutual benefit of tenants, landlords and letting agents,’ Totty added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/uk-rental-market-index-2015111011185.html