The price paid for rent by tenants across the UK rose by 2.6 per cent year-on-year in January, according to the latest official data on the PRS released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
ONS figures show that January returned better figures for annual increases in rent than December, where prices were up by 2.5 per cent when compared to the same month in 2014.
England was the star performer in terms of rental price rises, according to the ONS, with prices in the country ending January 2.7 per cent above where they were a year prior. London once again drove this growth forward with a yearly increase of 3.9 per cent compared to January 2015.
In Scotland, prices were up by some 0.8 per cent, while Wales saw rises of 0.3 per cent. This is the second year in a row that Scotland has returned very strong figures, but the data shows it has slipped a little since its peak last summer, where prices were climbing by 2.5 per cent year-on-year.
Steve Bolton, founder of Platinum Property Partners, said the main driver behind rental price rises across the country has been the combination of people priced out of the market and those who simply prefer to rent, and the fact that there are not enough available homes around at present.
And he warned that governmental plans to change the way investments work in the property sector could mean tenants pay even higher prices moving forward.
“It is hard to see how the proposed changes will benefit prospective first time buyers. The biggest barrier to home ownership is a lack of adequate property supply, and discouraging buy-to-let investment will do nothing to alleviate this. With prices standing at such high levels, first time buyers need to raise a substantial deposit and as rental prices continue to grow this will become ever more difficult,” he said.
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