Londoners who rent their property now pay double the cost of those across the rest of Great Britain, according to latest figures.
On average, the UK saw rent rise by 6.3% over the last 12 months. The monthly rental average now sits at £862, up from £811 last year.
The research, published by HomeLet, suggests that those residing in the capital now pay an average of £1,412, which is an increase of 11.2% from last year.
Scotland gets Cheaper
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Scotland saw rental income fall by 3.8%, the popularity of the apparent hope to become independent from the rest of the UK perhaps not appealing to quite as many as initially expected.
Monthly rental figures in London have now pushed beyond the boundary of affordability for many, particularly in central areas, many choosing to relocate to the ‘green belt’.
The south east and south west are not too far behind London in terms of rental increases according to the study, however Brandon Lewis, the Housing Minister takes a very different view to that suggested by HomeLet. He remarked that “inflation is currently at 1.8%, while national rents have increased by just 1%.” It is not known where Housing Minister managed to get his figures from.
He went on to suggest that the plans of building more housing will be the best way of limiting any future increases, and pointed to a £1 billion fund specifically for building homes for rent.
The annual percentage figures for each area of the UK were as follows, according to HomeLet:
Greater London 11.2%
East Anglia 6.4%
Wales 4.7%
South West 4.6%
South East 4.4%
West Midlands 4.3%
North West 2.9%
Yorkshire & Humber 2.2%
Northern Ireland 2%
East Midlands 0.2%
North East -2.3%
Scotland -3.8%