Landlords See Buy to Let Rents Stagnate for Months

According to official data (November 2018), rent rises have remained for the past five months. 

Buy-to-let rents increased by 0.9% in the year to the end of November -  the same rate as every month since July 2017, says the Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

The rise amounts to tenants paying an extra £4.50 rent each month compared to a year earlier. 

By country, rents in England rose by 1%, while Wales saw a 0.9% rise and Scotland a meagre increase of 0.5%. 

In London, rents have stagnated with no change in a year. When data from the capital is stripped from the statistics, average rents in England showed a 1.4% increase year on year.

 Historically, rents have risen by 6.8% since January 2015, with rents in England increasing ahead of those in Scotland and Wales.

“Wales private rental prices grew by 0.9% in the 12 months to November 2018, up from an increase of 0.7% in October 2018. Wales showed a broad increase in its annual growth rate between July 2016 and the end of 2017, but has fallen back during 2018,” said the ONS report. 

“Rental growth in Scotland increased by 0.5% in the 12 months to November 2018, down from 0.6% in the 12 months to October 2018. The historic weaker growth since mid-2016 may be due to stronger supply and weaker demand in Scotland.”

The most considerable average rent increase for the year was in the East Midlands, where tenants are paying 2.7% more for their homes than a year ago. The West Midlands (1.8%) and Yorkshire & Humberside (1.7%) followed in the table.

Behind the zero change in London, the next lowest average rent increase was in the North East (0.4%). 

Read the full ONS Private Housing Rental Price Index report.