Tenants benefit twice as rents start to fall

After a prolonged period of sustained rental increases, average rents are now starting to fall in some areas of the UK.

The latest HomeLet Rental Index reveals that the average cost of renting a home in Yorkshire and Humberside decreased by 3.6% during January 2014 to £557 per month.

This is also 2.5% less than the same time last year - and the lowest amount recorded since June 2012.

In addition, tenant incomes in the same region increased by 5.6% during the past 12 months to £23,000 per anum - effectively making tenants around £1040 a year better off than they were 12 months ago.

HomeLet Sales and Marketing Director Gary Abraham said: "At 32.6, the average age of tenants in Yorkshire and Humberside is 1.2 years less than the overall UK average. When combining this with an increase in their average income, it appears there's been a rise in the amount of younger, professional people who have moved into a rented home during the past 12 months.

"Our latest data also shows the rate at which rental values are increasing has slowed down throughout the UK following the rapid growth we saw immediately after the 2008 housing crisis - so the decrease in average rental amounts in Yorkshire and Humberside has followed this national trend.

"Yorkshire and Humberside tenants having more disposable income than last year shows renting a home is becoming a much longer term housing solution for many. With a number of Government initiatives planned to develop the rental market, I believe tenant and investor confidence within the region will grow even further and the private rented sector will flourish throughout 2014."