New analysis by the country’s leading landlords’ organisation has revealed that private sector rents across London have risen by much less than inflation.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the eight years between December 2005 and December 2013, rents across London as a whole increased by less 11.4%. Inflation as measured by RPI over this period was 30.5% and by CPI was 26.2%.
In comparison, figures published by the Department for Communities and Local Government show that in the eight-year period between 2005/06 and 2012/13, local authority housing average weekly rents in London increased by 36.2% and 48.2% for housing associations.
Alan Ward, chairman of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) said: “These figures burst the myth that it is private sector rents that are spiralling out of control when it is tenants in local authority controlled housing who are facing far steeper increases in rents.
“Although we accept that in some London boroughs rents are relatively high, index linking rents would leave many tenants worse off and would serve only to paper over the true problem – a lack of sufficient homes to rent.
“It is time that the Government recognised renting homes as an active business and supported investment by the army of individuals that make up the majority of the country’s landlords”.
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