London Buy to Let Rents Fall for First Time in 8 Years

According to official figures, buy-to-let rents nudged up by 1% in the year to the end of May 2018. 

The rate of increase remained the same for two months in a row. 

In London, rents were down 0.2% year-on-year, and the first-time landlords in the capital have seen buy to let annual rents fall since September 2010. 

Around the country, rents in England were up 1%. At the same time, Scotland saw a 0.6% increase and those in Wales performed slightly better than average, rising 1.2%, says the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices from the Office of National Statistics for May 2018. 

Buy-to-let rents excluding London for May 2018 increased 1% month-to-month, but 1.6% in the year - a figure that has not changed since January 2018.

“Growth in private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain has slowed since the end of 2015,” said the report. “This slowdown in the growth in private rental prices in Great Britain is driven mainly by a slowdown in London over the same period.”

The index showed a monthly rent of £500 in May 2017 has increased to £505 in 12 months. 

The East Midlands saw the most significant rental growth in the regions - up 2.9% year-on-year and from 2.8% in April. 

The South West was next best, posting a 2% increase, although that was down from 2.1% in April. The East of England also posted a 2% rise, up from 1.8% in April 2018. 

The lowest annual rental price increase was in London at -0.2%, down from 0% in April. Next was the North East with a 0.1% increase, unchanged from April. 

The survey looks at the rents of around 500,000 privately rented homes nationwide based on the rent tenants pay rather than advertised prices.