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London recorded its highest annual rent rise since the ONS began collecting the data in 2006. A third of all UK rent is spent in the capital.
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, Business reporter @taaffems
Rents across the UK have again increased in the year to July at more than double the rate of house price rises, official figures show.
Private rental prices rose by 5.3% with the greatest increase seen in Wales, according to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
There, private rent prices grew 6.5%.
The rate has been steadily increasing for the past two years. The latest overall 5.3% UK figure is up from 5.2% in June but a low of 1.3% two years ago.
Scottish rents also grew faster than the UK average at a rate of 5.7%.
Analysis from Sky News has shown that renters are now the majority in the UK, followed by people who own their homes outright and then by mortgage holders.
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Analysis: Squeeze on renters is symptom of housing crisis
Within England, the areas worst impacted by rent increases were:
West Midlands
Yorkshire and the Humber
London where rents grew 5.5%
North East saw the lowest growth in rent prices of 4.6%
London’s annual percentage increase in rent prices reached its highest annual rate since the data began being collected by the ONS in January 2006.
A third of all UK rental expenditure is done in the capital, the ONS said.
Renters now in the majority in UK
It comes as low supply, more renters and fewer properties have continually pushed up prices for landlords and surveys suggest the trend will continue.
The ONS data is for private rents only and so excludes social housing.
House price statistics were also released by the ONS on Wednesday which showed a rise of 1.7% up to June, a slow down in rises from 1.8% in May.
The average house cost £288,000, up £5,000 on a year earlier but £5,000 below the recent peaks.
When broken down by country, average prices grew:
1.9% to £306,000 in England
0.6% to £213,000 in Wales
2.7% to £174,000 in Northern Ireland
There was no change in Scotland where the average house price was £189,000.
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High interest rates have brought up the cost of mortgage payments meaning prospective buyers are put off by high asking prices.
Part of the slow down in rises can also be attributed to the spike in house prices seen in August 2022 when interest rates were low and stamp duty relief was offered as part of pandemic era supports.
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