Private tenants in the UK are paying higher rents than anywhere else in Europe, spending a larger proportion of the average wage on accommodation, revealed research by the National Housing Federation (NHF).
The average UK rent is £750 (€902) per month. The European average is just £400 (€481) a month, found the NHF, which represents housing associations.
Renting privately in the UK costs around 40% of a tenant’s income, comparing to the average of 28% in Europe.
Renters in Spain are the only ones that are close to the UK average, with their typical rent of €622 a month accounting for 39% of their income. In Germany, the average monthly rent of €600 is just 25% of the average wage.
Chief Executive of the NHF, David Orr, comments: “Not only do British renters face crippling rents, but they have almost no certainty about whether they will be able to stay in their home from one year to the next.”1
The average UK rent vs. European averages
|
Country |
% of income spent on rent |
Average monthly rent |
| UK | 39.1 | €902 |
| Switzerland | 31.9 | €922 |
| Spain | 39 | €622 |
| The Netherlands | 28.5 | €625 |
| Germany | 24.8 | €600 |
| France | 29.5 | €598 |
| Sweden | 34.8 | €500 |
| Malta | 29 | €461 |
| Romania | 34.7 | €333 |
| Slovakia | 13.2 | €239 |
Chief Executive of the NHF, David Orr, comments: “Not only do British renters face crippling rents, but they have almost no certainty about whether they will be able to stay in their home from one year to the next.”1
Short-term tenancies in the UK mean that 77% of renters in Great Britain and Northern Ireland moved house in the last five years, compared to 43% across Europe.
This data arrives after the Halifax revealed growing numbers of aspiring first time buyers are moving back in with their parents, despite record low mortgage rates and a rising availability of mortgages for those with low deposits.
The Halifax, who surveyed 1,000 parents of 20-45-year olds, found that 28% have taken their children back into the family home, compared with 24% in 2012.
However, super low mortgage rates are enabling thousands of buyers to purchase a home, if they can save a large deposit. Research released from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed that the amount of people who were granted a new mortgage in May increased to the highest level since March 2014.
On the BBA figures, Richard Sexton, Director of chartered surveyors e.surv, says: “Borrowers finally have more money in their pockets as inflation remains limited and wages are experiencing a tangible rise. Meanwhile, lenders continue to offer an increasing number of products to borrowers with smaller deposits, at record low rates.”1
However, the NHF also found that increasing property prices mean that two thirds of first time buyers are dependent on financial help from their parents for buying their first home.
1 http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jun/24/uk-tenants-pay-more-rent-than-europe