Average rent outside London hits record high – check how your area compares

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The new record of £1,316 across Britain, excluding London, means that average advertised rents outside London are around 7% higher than a year earlier, according to Rightmove’s analysis covering the month of May. With the General Election taking place on Thursday, Rightmove said the next government should accelerate housebuilding and incentivise landlords to invest in more homes for tenants, “to improve the supply and demand imbalance in the rental market and stabilise yearly rent growth”. Rightmove said the pace of growth in rental prices has eased from its peak of 12% two years ago but it remains significantly higher than the “more normal” level of around 2% per year seen before the coronavirus pandemic. Average rents in the UK Here are average advertised rents and the annual increase, according to Rightmove – North East, £894, 11% – West Midlands, £1,180, 10% – Scotland, £1,067, 9% – East of England, £1,597, 8% – North West, £1,146, 8% – Yorkshire and the Humber, £1,022, 8% – South West, £1,425, 7% – East Midlands, £1,150, 7% – South East, £1,836, 6% – London, £2,652, 4% – Wales, £1,065, 4% Tim Bannister, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “We’ve been talking about the imbalance between supply and demand in the rental market for a long time now, so it’s easy to forget that there was a time before the pandemic where rental price growth was more stable.” He added: “The next government should be prioritising an improvement to the planning process, an acceleration of house building, and encouraging more supply into the rental market.” open image in gallery Nathan Emerson, CEO of property professionals’ body Propertymark, said: “Propertymark has long argued that the private rental sector needs more houses to stabilise rental prices but there is a myriad of other factors that can contribute towards making the market more attractive for both investors and tenants.