Renting Now Cheaper Than Buying A Home

It is cheaper to rent a property than it is to buy a home for the first time in more than six years, says Hamptons. Research by the estate agency suggests that before the pandemic began in March 2020, people buying with a 10% deposit would have been better off than renters by £102 a month. But last month, it found the average private sector tenant was better off, spending £71 a month less in rent. There are now only four areas in the UK where it is cheaper to buy than rent. Read more on the BBC website.

Renting now cheaper than buying a home, Hamptons says - BBC News 

Average UK Rents Up 3% Since 2018

New figures released by SpareRoom have shown that the average cost of renting a room in the UK has increased by £15 per month since the same period last year – up from £567 in 2018 to £582 in 2019. House prices may be falling but rents are on the up in all regions of the UK. London, Northern Ireland and West Midlands have seen the largest jump, with rents up 4%. Despite its proximity to the capital, the south east has witnessed the lowest growth (just 2%), followed by the south west at 3%. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/average-uk-rents-up-3-since-2018.html

What Impact Will Brexit Have On The PRS?

The vote in favour of Brexit is a shock and has already resulted in a sharp decline in the value of the UK pound. But what impact will the outcome of the referendum have on the private rented sector?

• Property prices - House prices could fall across many parts of the country as prolonged uncertainty and a potentially weaker economy has an adverse impact on the market.
• New housing supply - Many residential developers will be less willing to commit to new property projects due to the uncertain economic climate. This will make it much harder for the government to achieve its target of building 1m new homes by 2020.
• Rental prices - The cost of renting will rise across many parts of the UK as demand from tenants increases and new housing supply falls.

Read more on the home.co.uk website.

Private Renters in UK Pay Double the European Average

Private renters in the UK pay the highest price for housing in the entire European Union. With an average monthly rent of 902 Euros per month (the equivalent of around £730), private renters in the UK pay almost double the amount of the European average, which is 481 Euros. Even when compared to other Western European countries with similar income levels, the PRS in the UK remains expensive. For example, private rents in the UK are around 50% higher than in Germany (600 Euros) or the Netherlands (625 Euros), both countries with a large share of privately rented households. High rent levels mean the average household in the UK pays a higher proportion of their income on rent than elsewhere. On average, private rented households in the UK spend almost 40% of their income on paying their rent, compared to a European average of 28%. Read more on the NHF website.

Renters Paid £4,000 More than Owners for Same Property over Past Five Years

Someone who has been unable to get on the property ladder for the last five years would have paid nearly £4,000 more to rent a typical home than if they had been able to buy the same house. Paying a mortgage on a first home is now £742 a year cheaper than renting the same property, according to the latest Buying vs Renting Review from Halifax. Five years ago, those renting typically paid £15 a month less than people buying their own home, but the position has reversed. Renters now pay £62 a month more, even with buyers’ costs of repairs and maintenance included. The total gap over the five years comes to £3,926. Read more on the Guardian website.

Affordable Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department defines what constitutes affordable housing.

Brandon Lewis: The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (sections 68 – 70) defines social housing as low cost rental accommodation and low cost home ownership accommodation. In the Act, a low cost rent is simply defined as below the market rate. Low cost home ownership is defined by its availability for occupation on a shared ownership or equity percentage basis. This provides flexibility to support a range of people with different housing needs through our affordable housing programmes. Read more on the Parliament website.

Rental Demand Soars As Seven Potential Tenants Chase Every Property

Demand for UK rental property has soared over the past twelve months, with seven tenants now chasing every new property on the market, according to a report. The surge has pushed up rents across Britain, according to Sequence, which analysed the prices of hundreds of lettings from estate agents. The average UK tenant outside London paid £697-a-month in rent in July compared with £670 a year ago, while rents in London increased by 6pc to £1,515. Demand for rental properties across the UK increased by 18pc in July on an annual basis and by 7pc since June, while supply fell by 19pc and 1pc respectively, according to the report. In the capital, demand increased by more than half in July on an annual basis, compared with a 3pc annual decline in supply. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

London Rents 200% above Rest of UK

The average cost of renting a home in London is 209% more expensive than the rest of Britain, according to the latest rental index from Move With Us. Despite the huge disparity, advertised prices in the capital are actually £42 down on this time last year. Meanwhile, the average cost of renting across the whole of Britain rose by £7 (0.75%) last month. The average nationwide cost to rent at the end of October was £975 per month. Read more on the Move With Us website.

Average Cost of Renting Reaches All-Time High

Tenants in the UK are paying more rent than ever, after the average monthly cost of renting a home rose to a new record amount.  The June 2013 HomeLet Rental Index shows it now costs an average of £811 per month to rent a property, an increase of 3% during June, and a 5.1% increase from the same time last year.  When the Greater London figure is removed, the average cost of renting a home is £681 per month, an increase of 1.9% from May 2013 – and the highest amount since August 2012.  June’s data shows the increases in average rental amounts are consistent across the UK, with eight of the 12 regions seeing the cost of renting a home rise during June. Read more on the HomeLet website.