Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to record highs, with the typical advertised rent outside London reaching £1,291 per calendar month in the first quarter of 2024, according to property website Rightmove. This represents an 8.5% increase year-on-year, significantly outpacing inflation. In London, the average rent also hit a new high of £2,633, up 5.3% from the previous year, though annual growth in the capital has slowed from a peak of 16.1% in summer 2022.
Regional variations are stark, with some areas experiencing double the national average growth. Walton-on-Thames in Surrey topped the table with a 34.6% annual increase, followed by Coventry (19.5%) and Reading (19.1%). Other hotspots include Bootle in Merseyside, Hertford in Hertfordshire, Southampton, Watford, and Paisley, all reporting growth between 17% and 19%.
Despite record highs, the pace of rent growth is slowing as tenant affordability is 'severely tested', Rightmove said. Nearly a third (30%) of larger homes, including four-bedroom detached properties and those with five or more bedrooms, saw advertised rents reduced—the highest figure for this time of year in 12 years. Rightmove estimates that almost 50,000 rental properties are needed to restore supply to pre-pandemic levels.
Rent rises are largely attributed to demand outstripping supply, exacerbated by buy-to-let landlords passing on higher mortgage costs from interest rate increases. Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, commented: 'The rental market is no longer at peak boiling point, but it remains at a very hot simmer.'
