Rent increases plummet last year – but show massive rise since 2020

Nationally, the cost of moving into a rented home rose by just 2.0% over the last 12 months, says Hamptons.

This was the smallest increase since October 2020 when rents were falling in the aftermath of the Covid outbreak. This reflects rents rising from an already high level.

That’s because in December 2023, rental growth stood at 10.2%.

Average rents have risen by 31.2% in Great Britain since October 2020, from £1,042 per month to £1,367, costing the average tenant an extra £3,912 per year.

Scotland continues to have the fastest-growing rents in the country, with prices on a new let up 5.5% over the last 12 months. Rental growth in the Midlands and the North of England tracked closely behind. Here, rents rose by 5.2% and 4.8%, respectively, in December (table 1).

Meanwhile, Greater London was the only region where rents fell (-0.2%) over the last year (table 1). This is partly because rents rose at double-digit pace in December 2023 (11.4%)… Letting Agent Today