The rise of the rentier class continues with private rents rising at a record rate, according to the property listings web site Rightmove.
The company’s Rental Trends Tracker indicated asking rents outside of London rose to £1,088 a month, up 10.8% from £982 a year earlier.
The inflation-busting rise marks the first time the annual increase has been in double digits in percentage terms.
Rents in London rose even faster, jumping 14.3% to £2,193 a month from £1,919 in the same quarter of 2020.
While rents in London remain eye-wateringly high, Manchester and Liverpool look to be catching up fast, with asking rents increasing by 19.3% and 17.1% respectively compared to this time last year; however, Swansea topped the charts with a 19.7% year-on-year increase in typical asking rents.
There are around three times as many people seeking rented accommodation as there are places available, Rightmove said, which has led to the inevitable increase in rents.
Across Britain, tenant demand is up by 6% and the number of available rental properties is 50% lower than this time a year ago, Rightmove reported.
“In the first three months of this year, we’ve seen tenant demand exceed the high levels set last year, which when coupled with the fewer available homes for rent, has resulted in the most competitive rental market we’ve ever recorded. There are several factors affecting supply and demand,” said Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data.
“On the supply side, we’re hearing from agents and landlords that tenants are signing longer leases, which has prevented some of the stock that would normally come back onto the market from doing so. When it comes to demand, we’re still seeing the effects of the pandemic, whereby tenants are balancing what they need from a home and how close they need to live to work with where they can afford,” he added.
“We’re also seeing more homes becoming available to rent compared to the beginning of the year, which will provide some much-needed choice for tenants,” Bannister said.