£1,201 warning issued to anybody who rents their home in the UK

The average UK rent stands at £1,201 per month, marking a 9.7% increase on a year ago, according to Zoopla's December report, which was released on Tuesday December 12 (today).

The average rent for renters in the UK has hit £1,201 a month - ten per cent above last year. The average UK rent stands at £1,201 per month, marking a 9.7% increase on a year ago, according to Zoopla's December report, which was released on Tuesday December 12 (today).

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said: "The UK is past peak rental growth which will be welcome news to renters who have seen rents rise by almost a third (31%) over the last three years. London will lead the slowdown, acting as a drag on the UK growth rate.

"The rental market has been stuck in a period of static supply and strong demand which has pushed rents higher. Demand has been driven by the strength of the labour market, the reopening of the economy after the pandemic lockdowns, record immigration and higher mortgage rates, making it harder for would-be first-time buyers to buy a home.

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"Faster growth in earnings has supported a faster pace of rental growth. The supply-demand imbalance in rented housing is not going to disappear in 2024, however, the market is set to become more balanced than it has been over the last three years. The slowdown in rental growth over 2024 will be down to a weaker labour market, slower earnings growth and growing affordability pressures limiting the pace at which rents can rise, particularly in southern England.

"Rents have room to rise above the UK average in regional cities where affordability is less of a constraint, but this won't be the case indefinitely."

Richard Davies, from London-based estate agent Chestertons, said: "Rental growth has been driven by an imbalance between limited supply of new rental properties coming to the market and a growing population of renters. We believe that rents are likely to rise further over the next two years as employment remains high and competition for rental properties is sustained.

"However, we will see more supply coming to the market as rising yields have started to encourage more landlords back into the market and some financially-stretched homeowners are choosing to put their properties on the rental market in reaction to the jump in mortgage repayments.

"Therefore, whilst we do not foresee a change in demand, the addition of new supply is likely to have a dampening effect on rental growth over the next two years. As a result, we forecast a 5% increase in rents across the UK and London in 2024, followed by a drop to 3-3.5% in 2025 as the accumulation of new supply begins to soak up demand."