Private rental prices falling in real terms across the UK, latest ONS report shows

Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that rents paid by private tenants in the UK are falling in real terms.

The figures published by the ONS show that private rental prices grew by 1.2% in the 12 months to June 2021.

However, the National Residential Landlords association (NRLA) says this increase remains well below all measurements of inflation, with the smallest increase, Consumer Price Index (CPI) including housing costs, being 2.4%.

Looking at each country, private rental prices grew by 1.1% in England, 1.5% in Wales, and 1.2% in Scotland.

Regionally, while the East and West Midlands saw the highest annual growth in private rents at 2.4%, London saw the lowest, with rents falling by 0.1%.

The NRLA also highlights that recent data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has pointed to rents increasing by 3% over the next year as a result of the demand for homes to rent exceeding supply.

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the NRLA, has commented: “Today’s figures burst the myth that landlords are hiking rents by as much as possible and demonstrate that market forces are the biggest influence on rent levels. It is clear also that the trend of renters moving out of the capital in response to the pandemic continues.

“That said, demand for privately rent homes continues to outstrip supply and without further efforts to meet that demand, rents will continue to rise. The Government needs a strategy that properly recognises the importance of a thriving private rented sector in which tenants have genuine choices over where they rent.”

You can read the Government’s Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, UK: June 2021 report here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/indexofprivatehousingrentalprices/june2021