Housing rents are rising at their fastest pace for 13 years, with the average UK tenant facing a bill of nearly £1,000 a month, according to research that underscores the increased costs to renters as workplaces reopen but supply remains tight.
Rents rose by an annual 8.3 per cent to an average £969 a month in the last quarter of 2021, according to a quarterly survey of the sector by property website Zoopla.
It said that demand for rental properties in January — as measured by inquiries to agents via its website — was up 76 per cent, compared with the four-year average from 2018 to 2021 for the same month. However, the stock of homes available to rent was 39 per cent lower than the five-year average at the beginning of the year.