Rents outside London surged by 8% annually in February, an index has found.
Across Britain but excluding London, the average price of a newly-let property was 8% higher or £68 per month more than in February 2020, according to the latest Hamptons index.
The increase took the average monthly rent outside London to £913, up from £845 in February 2020. According to Hamptons, rental growth nationally has been fuelled by a lack of stock, with nearly a fifth fewer homes coming onto the rental market during the coronavirus pandemic compared with the previous 12 months. London was the only region where there were more homes available to rent in February than a year earlier, the report said.
There is also an urban-rural divide, with 16% more homes available to rent in cities across Britain in February 2021 than a year earlier. In town and country locations there have been respective declines of 28% and 52% over the same period.
The lack of rental homes on the market has meant that so far this year half (50%) of landlords letting a property were able to secure a higher rent than they had previously achieved, Hamptons said. This is the highest proportion since 2016, with an average increase of £60 per month.
Watsons Head of Lettings Aaron Stannard said: “This year we’ve seen a decline in the number of rental homes coming onto the market. Would-be tenants are now faced with significantly less choice and much greater competition for each property which in turn is pushing up the cost of renting a property”.
