Rental increases remained subdued in February, mainly dragged down by London, figures show.
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows private rental prices in Great Britain rose by 1.1% annually in February, but by 1.6% when you exclude the capital. London private rental prices grew by 0.1% in the 12 months to February.
In England, private rental prices grew by 1.1%, Wales saw growth of 1.4% while Scotland saw rental prices increase by 0.4% in the 12 months to February.
Commenting on the figures, Kate Davies, executive director at the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, said: “These figures reaffirm how subdued private housing rental statistics have been in the last few months.
“Whilst that may be giving tenants some temporary respite from higher rents, the flip-side is that landlords will be facing downward pressure on their cash-flows and profitability. This comes at a time when successive policy changes in the buy-to-let sector have proved detrimental.
“We are already concerned that availability of private rental homes is unlikely to keep up with household numbers.
“We therefore ask the Government to recognise the benefits that a strong private rented sector brings for the UK, and the importance of maintaining a good supply of rental properties for the periods when home ownership is not suitable or achievable for households.”
Comments (1)
Interesting. The rents in my area have shot up and I don’t see them slowing down as yet. Demand is too great and landlords are quitting and therefore exacerbating the problem. I myself am planning to sell one or two as they become vacant. There is already a terrible homelessness problem in the area, as is the case in most of the UK, yet the local Council have imposed selective licensing and then wonder why they can’t attract landlords to take housing benefit. The numbers don’t stack without the rent increases and LHA doesn’t cut it.