The latest Index of Private Housing Rental Prices has now been released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The highlights include:
- Rent prices paid by tenants in the UK have increased by 1.5% in the 12 months to June 2020. This is unchanged since April 2020.
- Rent prices have increased by 1.5% in England, 1.4% in Wales, and 0.6% in Scotland in the 12 months to June 2020.
- London rent prices have increased by 1.2% in the 12 months to June 2020.
The ONS report addresses how the COVID-19 outbreak has affected this data: “The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is working to ensure that the UK has the vital information needed to respond to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on our economy and society; this includes how we measure the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (IPHRP).
“At present, the price collection for this publication has been slightly affected, but this has not impacted the reliability of our estimates. A small change was made to how the data are collected in England; Tenancy Deposit Protection data have been used for less than 1% of the data in June 2020.
“The ONS remains committed to providing the best and most accurate information we can, serving the public good at a time when it is needed the most. As this situation evolves, we are developing several solutions to meet potential scenarios, depending on the amount of data that is able to be collected by our data suppliers, and to consider how we produce forthcoming publications. Users will be informed of any changes to how the data are measured.”
Read the full report here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/indexofprivatehousingrentalprices/june2020
Mary-Anne Bowring, group managing director at Ringley and creator of automated lettings platform PlanetRent, comments: “Today’s (15th July) ONS figures highlight the resilience of the UK rental market, with steady rental growth across the board despite a turbulent period due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“While the ONS stats show more subdued growth than other indices, all regions recorded positive growth throughout June.
“London in particular, recorded steady rental growth, demonstrating the robust nature of the capital’s rental market.
“For institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers looking to enter the UK rental market in search of steady income streams to match their liabilities, today’s figures are good news. Similarly, for buy-to-let landlords, it shows there is money to still be made in rental property, despite facing a tougher regulatory and tax environment.”