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Tenants paying £400 more a month compared to five years ago
Various 'for sale', 'sold' and 'let by' estate agent signs juxtaposed next to a Dreams store in Clapham, London

CALLS for rent caps intensified today after it was revealed that tenants are paying £400 more per month than they were five years ago.

New statistics released by property website Rightmove show that average rents outside London have climbed to a record £1,365 per month.

In the capital, rental costs have hit a new high, rising to a staggering £2,712 per month.

Tenants nationwide are now paying an average of £417 more per month than in 2020, a 44 per cent increase that far outpaces wage growth.

This year’s figures indicate that supply has increased over the last year, with the number of properties to choose from rising by 15 per cent. Meanwhile, tenant demand has fallen by 10 per cent.

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey said: “Landlords often blame rising rents on demand being higher than the number of homes available, but it is now clear that high rents are here to stay, even as the number of renters looking for homes is falling.  

“When so much of our income is swallowed up by landlords, it can mean that we can’t afford to heat our homes for the winter or feed ourselves properly.

“Some renters are staring down the barrel of debt and homelessness.

“The government can and must act urgently. We rightly have caps on essentials like energy and water bills, but we desperately need the same protection from the soaring rents that are pricing us out of our homes.”

StepChange Debt Charity’s Richard Lane said: “The last five years have hit household finances hard, but few have felt it more sharply than those in the private rented sector.

“The majority of our clients struggling with debt are renters, with a third in the private rented sector. Our data shows that among StepChange clients, housing costs take up 37 per cent of private renters’ incomes on average, compared to 29 per cent among social renters and 27 per cent among mortgage holders.

“When so much of your income goes on rent, it’s no wonder private renters are more exposed to debt and financial hardship.”

The government was contacted for comment.

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