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Call for freeze as report shows rents rising at record rates
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The Index of Private Housing Rental Prices report for April 2022 has been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It shows that rents in the UK have risen by 2.7% in the 12 months to April 2022. This is up from 2.4% in the 12 months to March 2022.
The main points of the report also include:
- Private rental prices grew by 2.5% in England, 1.7% in Wales, and 2.9% in Scotland in the 12 months to April 2022
- The East Midlands saw the highest annual growth in private rental prices (4.0%), while London saw the lowest (1.1%)
Generation Rent has commented on the ONS Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, highlighting that it shows UK rents rising at their fastest rate since 2016.
Dan Wilson Craw, Deputy Director of Generation Rent, said: “Rents have been surging since offices and universities opened back up last year, and more people moved back to cities than there were homes available. Now landlords are trying to raise rent on existing tenants knowing that if they can’t afford it, it won’t be hard to find a new tenant.
“This is unsustainable, particularly for the 39% of private renters who rely on Local Housing Allowance which has been frozen. With rising food and energy prices, renters will get ill, go hungry and fall into arrears, risking eviction and homelessness. To avoid this catastrophe, we need a freeze on rents and a pause on evictions for the duration of this emergency, and an increase in Local Housing Allowance.”
