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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Rents continue to rise across the UK

The average cost of renting a property in the UK rose by 2.1% in September, while tenants in the capital faced a 1.9% increase as the recovery in London continued, according to the latest figures from HomeLet.

Its index, which is based on new lets agreed by landlords and agents using its service, reveals that the average monthly rent in the UK is now £927, led unsurprisingly by London where the average monthly rent now stands at £1,593.

The greatest annual rental price inflation was in Northern Ireland, where the increase hit 4.3% in September, followed by the West Midlands (3.9%) and the East Midlands (3.7%).

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The South East of England was the only region to record a negative rate of growth in rents.

Looking at performance across the UK, 11 of the 12 regions recorded by HomeLet’s rental index reported an increase in new listings ‘to let’ as well as homes ‘let’. 

Martin Totty, chief executive of Barbon Insurance Group, HomeLet’s parent company, said: “While it is perhaps too early to conclude, this data signals the re-emergence of an upward trend in rents. It wouldn't be surprising if landlords, seeing their own current and anticipated cost increases, seek to pass these costs on to tenants to preserve the returns from capital they have invested in residential property assets.

“Landlords are facing a deluge of higher costs from new regulation, taxation changes on buy-to-let mortgages and the prospect of a near-term rise in interest rates. There’s also the added uncertainty over the fall-out from the government's intention to ban letting agents from charging up-front fees to tenants.”

Totty added: “In a sector where demand for rental properties generally outstrips supply, most informed commentators suggest higher externally imposed costs on landlords will inevitably translate into higher rents to tenants. This may prove to be the start of that upward movement, especially if tenants are left competing for fewer rental properties because some landlords decide the returns from property investment are being eroded by factors beyond their control.”

Rental figures from the September 2017 HomeLet Rental Index

Region

Average rent in September 2017

Average rent in August 2017

Average rent in September 2016

Monthly variation

Annual variation

Northern Ireland

£636

£634

£610

0.3%

4.3%

West Midlands

£692

£693

£666

-0.1%

3.9%

East Midlands

£620

£617

£598

0.5%

3.7%

South West

£814

£838

£787

-2.9%

3.4%

Scotland

£628

£629

£613

-0.2%

2.4%

Yorkshire & Humberside

£630

£630

£616

0.0%

2.3%

North West

£697

£703

£683

-0.9%

2.0%

North East

£529

£538

£519

-1.7%

1.9%

Greater London

£1,593

£1,609

£1,563

-1.0%

1.9%

Wales

£617

£626

£606

-1.4%

1.8%

East of England

£914

£926

£898

-1.3%

1.8%

South East

£1,001

£1,028

£1,002

-2.6%

-0.1%

UK

£927

£939

£908

-1.3%

2.1%

UK excluding Greater London

£766

£776

£749

-1.3%

2.3%

Notes:

Based on new tenancies in September 2017

Based on new tenancies in August 2017

Based on new tenancies in September 2016

Comparison of average rent in September 2017 and August 2017

Comparison of average rent in September 2017 and September 2016

 

HomeLet Rental Index Regional Variance Figures for September 2017

Rents continue to rise across the UK

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