Tenants in England Spend Half Their Pay on Rent

Rents in England are almost half of tenants’ average take-home pay, according to an official report on the state of the country’s housing. Figures in the latest English Housing Survey show that tenants paid an average of 47% of their net income in rent, while those who had taken out a mortgage faced repayments equal to 23% of their earnings after tax.  The report also showed that once housing benefit is stripped out of income, average rents are now more than half of average gross pay. Across England, private renters paid 43% of the average gross income of the main householder and partner including housing benefit in rent, but without including the state payments tenants faced costs that were typically 52% of their earnings. Download the figures from the CLG website.