Where Rents Have Risen 41% in Five Years...

Tenants in Bristol are paying 41 per cent more for a rental property than they did just five years ago, it is being claimed.

The research comes from deposit alternative service Zero Deposit which has broken down rent movements across the UK.

Across England as a whole, rents have risen by 13.7 per cent in the past five years, bringing the average cost of renting to £960 per month.

Across the city of Bristol in particular it now costs an average of £1,513 pcm to rent the typical property; this is 40.9 per cent more than the £1,074 it cost just five years ago, suggesting there’s a lack of supply to meet demand from incoming tenants in the city.

The second fastest growing region is Gloucester, where rents have surged by 38.2 per cent to £861. Mendip in Somerset makes up the top three, as tenants now have to pay 33.6 per cent more than five years ago, at £922 per month.

Liverpool and Norwich are two other cities where rents have been pushed up by strong demand, as they experienced growth of 33.1 and 31.9 per cent respectively.

But rents have fallen or stagnated in a handful of parts of England, in particular in Surrey and London.

Elmbridge in Surrey has seen a major decrease in the cost of renting, by 21.6 per cent, although it still stands at £1,554 per month. Guildford in west Surrey has also seen a reduction of 3.8 per cent.

Rents have also fallen across four districts of London: by 8.1 per cent in the City of London; 6.5 per cent in Richmond Upon Thames; 3.9 per cent in Kensington and Chelsea; and by 2.9 per cent in Brent.

Sam Reynolds, chief executive of Zero Deposit, comments: “Tenants are struggling with rental affordability, and with huge increases to the cost of renting in cities like Bristol and Liverpool it’s easy to see why. Even in areas where rents have fallen, the cost of securing a property remains extremely expensive.

“In the past few years the market has been rocked by rising energy costs and mortgage rates, while the lack of supply to meet demand is also serving to push up prices in previously affordable regions.

“This means that those reliant on the rental sector in order to live can face incredible competition when searching and an even larger financial barrier when it comes to placing a deposit and covering the asking rent on a monthly basis.”