Monthly rents are now 13 times 1988 level, says Generation Rent – Mortgage Strategy
The average monthly rent in England is £1,442, 13 times what it was in 1988, according to analysis from Generation Rent.
The campaign group today published its ‘cost of renting receipt’, which shows the increase in the cost of private rents since the 1988 Housing Act.
This analysis found that, if the price of everyday groceries had risen at the same rate as private rents since 1988, a standard ten item shop from a supermarket would cost more than five times what it does now.
The 1965 Rent Act introduced regulated tenancies with long-term security of tenure and fair rents assessed by independent rent officers.
However, the 1988 Housing Act abolished this system, meaning 1988 was the last time there was a system of regulation to limit the cost of private rents.
At £1,442, the average monthly rent in England is thirteen times higher now than it was in 1988 (£111).
On average private renters in England spend over 36% of their income on rent, with this figure rising to well above 40% in many major cities.
Generation Rent is calling on Andy Burnham’s government to introduce a limit on how much landlords can hike the rent, capped to the lower of Consumer Price Inflation or wage growth.
Similar policies have recently been endorsed by influential think tanks such as IPPR, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the New Economics Foundation and the Fabian Society.
Generation Rent chief executive Holly Williamson said: “High rents are backbreaking for renters across the country. It can mean children going to school hungry, families trapped living in temporary accommodation for years or older renters choosing between heating or eating.
“The cost of renting is like a runaway train with no driver, leaving too many renters as passengers with no control over our lives. With another spike in inflation looming, Andy Burnham’s government can and must act urgently, by bringing in a limit on how much landlords can hike our rents.”
