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Average UK private rents increased by 9.0% in the 12 months to February

ended 20. March 2024

The ONS has just published the Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR), which showed average UK private rents increased by 9.0% in the 12 months to February 2024 (provisional estimate), higher than in the 12 months to January 2024. In the 12 months to February 2024, average monthly rents increased to £1,276 (8.8%) in England, £723 (9.0%) in Wales and £944 (10.9%) in Scotland. In the 12 months to December 2023, average rents increased by 9.3% in Northern Ireland. Additional highlights below. Newspage asked experts for their views, bottom.

  • In England, private rent inflation in the 12 months to February 2024 was highest in London (10.6%) and lowest in the North East (5.7%).
  • In Great Britain, the average private rent was highest in Kensington and Chelsea (£3,248) and lowest in Dumfries and Galloway (£472).
  • Average UK house prices decreased by 0.6% in the 12 months to January 2024 (provisional estimate), up from a decrease of 2.2% (revised estimate) in the 12 months to December 2023.

10 responses from the Newspage community

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Michelle Lawson
Director at Lawson Financial
These figures make for grim reading but come as no surprise. Landlords in the private rental sector have been crippled by increased costs with higher mortgage rates, huge tax bills and burdensome and costly regulation. The unintended consequences of this has meant tenants, some of whom are already financially on the edge, would suffer in the long run. Many experts have warned the Government about the impact of a frontal assault on landlords but their efforts have been ignored.
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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
Rents are soaring, tightening the squeeze on everyone's wallet amid the cost of living crisis. Buy-to-let mortgage rates are sky-high, meaning landlords are being forced to hike rents, sometimes steeply, especially if they've held off on increases for years. With a 9% jump in UK private rents in the year to February 2024, and even sharper rises in places like Scotland and London, the pressure is palpable. There's no sign of rent relief soon. Sadly, I predict rents will continue their upward trajectory, making affordable living spaces even harder to find.
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Ben Perks
Managing Director at Orchard Financial Advisers
As costs have increased for landlords, it's no surprise that they have passed this on to tenants. Landlords across the UK have finished low fixed rates over the past 12 months and seen a dramatic increase in mortgage payments. Many have to increase the rents just to break even. This drives up the average market rent for properties and then other landlords follow suit. Rents will continue to increase until the Bank of England drops the base rate and alleviates the pressure on borrowers. As we can see in this data, high interest rates don't just impact mortgage holders but renters, too.
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Jonathan Gordon
Director of Wealth Management at IP Global
It's brutal for tenants at present. Landlords are facing rising costs, which in turn has led to rent increases for tenants. This creates an extremely difficult situation for renters in the UK, as wages are often not keeping pace with rent hikes. While house prices have seen a slight dip, the consistently high demand for housing suggests significant price drops are unlikely.
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Hannah Bashford
Director at Model Financial Solutions
As shocking as this data is, it’s not a surprise as we have seen many landlords having to raise their rents to cover the increased interest costs and satisfy lenders' affordability criteria. The rental market is broken and those that do not have mortgages are reaping the benefits of these hikes, while others are just about clinging onto their investments. These rents make it almost impossible to save for a deposit and so the circle continues.
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Rohit Kohli
Director at The Mortgage Stop
While this morning's inflation figures are being warmly welcomed, these rental figures provides a stark reminder that not everyone will be celebrating. With rents rising by 9%, renters can be forgiven for thinking they are still in the middle of a cost of living crisis. This is yet another indicator for the Bank of England to consider in their base rate decision tomorrow.
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Riz Malik
Independent Financial Adviser at R3 Wealth
This level of increase is not sustainable and hampers first-time buyers aaspiring to get on the housing ladder. Given the government has all but abandoned first-time buyers while squeezing landlords, I fear there is worse to come for renters in the private rental sector.
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Ranald Mitchell
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
Private rents surging by 9% year on year are a direct result of several years of the punishing buy-to-let market conditions landlords have faced. These levels could begin to reshape the rental market, with more demand for smaller, more affordable homes further inflating the rents on these, whilst larger, less affordable properties may see a fall. Home sharing may become more prevalant as people get priced out of their own space and we'll likely see a strong rise in property conversions to smaller dwellings.
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Gary Bush
Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com
With the disaster of high mortgage rates comes super-high rents. With rental inflation variation of 10.6% in London and still an eyewatering 5.7% in the cash-starved North East of England, surely the Bank of England can understand that the population is straining and ease off in tomorrow's monetary meeting?
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Nicola Smith
Group Residential Director at Complete Prime Residential
At Complete, we've observed a notable trend. Our average void periods in the UK have decreased steadily from 21 days in January to 15 days in February this year. We've observed significant demand, especially in cities like Edinburgh, Manchester, and London, aligning closely with the ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR). Notably, our renewal rates for London in February reached an impressive 9.40%, with Manchester following closely at 7.10%. Furthermore, we've experienced remarkable rental growth in 2024, averaging 7.5% across our UK properties.