Landlords enjoying "record income from letting"

Landlords in England are witnessing a booming rental market, with earnings from rental payments in excess of £32 billion per year.

Research by Direct Line for Business shows that London landlords collect the largest proportion of private rental income in England at £14 billion per year, more than the north east, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and East Anglia combined. In total, 44 % of the entire country’s rent is paid in London.
 
Outside the capital, Leeds pays the greatest amount of any city, with annual private rent totalling £565m, followed by Birmingham on £521m and Manchester on £401m.
 
The research reveals that London and the Home Counties dominate rental incomes, with the highest average rents sitting in central London - a cool £19,596 per year or £1,633 per month. Elmbridge in Surrey has the highest rents outside London, worth £18,948 per year or £1,579 per month.
 
Despite this dominance, landlords outside of these regions can also make a healthy rental income. Many areas outside the London commuter belt can command high rental costs, for example Bath and North Somerset, and the Cotswolds both command annual rental incomes of more than £11,000 per year.
 
Outside of London, Bournemouth leads in terms of proportions of private rentals with 30% of households. The Isles of Scilly have 29.7% and Brighton and Hove 29.%. Within Greater London, the proportion of private renters is put at 30.7%.