Rents are nearly £100 per month higher on average than a year ago, according to a property website. The average UK monthly rent was £995 in the first quarter of this year, Zoopla said, up by 11% from £897 a year ago. Its index is based on new lets agreed.
Demand has surged back into city centre markets and the supply of properties for rent struggled to keep pace, the report said. A new let agreed for an average rental property in London, meanwhile, will cost more than £20,000 in rent over the next 12 months.
In London, the average rent in March was £1,698. Grainne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla, said: “UK rental growth is being driven by high rental demand and limited supply, trends that are more pronounced in city centres.
“The surge of post-pandemic pent-up rental demand will normalise through quarter two and quarter three however, which means rental growth levels will start to ease. Affordability considerations will also start to put a limit on further rental growth although this may occur at different times depending on location.
“Rents are likely to continue rising for longer in areas which have the most constrained stock levels – currently London, Scotland and the South West.”
Gareth Atkins, managing director, lettings at Foxtons, said: “Steadily increasing demand, severely limited stock and a swift rise in rental prices are all compelling reasons to renew – and renters are responding. Through Foxtons’ renewals department, we have seen a 29% rise in renewals year-on-year versus 2021.
“Renters are also choosing longer tenancies to avoid a market in flux; our deal length for renewals has gone up 9% in 2022, reaching an average tenancy of 15.7 months.”
