Cost of renting outstrips inflation ...

The cost of renting a home in the UK is rising quicker than the rate of inflation, with the average monthly cost up 2.3% in the 12 months to January, according to the latest HomeLet Rental Index.

The average rent in the UK rose to £953 a month, £23 higher than in the corresponding month last year.

In London, rents have risen by 2.5% over the past 12 months to £1,627 a month.

When the capital is excluded, the average rent in the UK is now £793 a month, which is up 2.3% on last year.

The rental growth recorded in January outstrips inflation, recorded at 1.3% in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The region with the largest year-on-year increase is the North West, showing a 8.7% rise between January 2019 and January 2020.

Nine of the 12 regions monitored by HomeLet showed an increase in rental values between January 2019 and January 2020, with four of those regions seeing an increase of more than 5%.

Region	Jan-20	Jan-19	Annual Variation	Dec-19	Monthly Variation
North West	£764	£703	8.7%	£756	1.1%
Wales	£650	£606	7.3%	£653	-0.5%
Scotland	£666	£627	6.2%	£654	1.8%
East Midlands	£656	£624	5.1%	£662	-0.9%
Northern Ireland	£662	£644	2.8%	£666	-0.6%
Greater London	£1,627	£1,588	2.5%	£1,630	-0.2%
Yorkshire & Humberside	£651	£636	2.4%	£655	-0.6%
North East	£540	£534	1.1%	£553	-2.4%
West Midlands	£699	£693	0.9%	£700	-0.1%
South East	£1,021	£1,022	-0.1%	£1,023	-0.2%
East of England	£907	£909	-0.2%	£913	-0.7%
South West	£851	£859	-0.9%	£840	1.3%
UK	£953	£932	2.3%	£953	0%
UK excluding Greater London	£793	£775	2.3%	£793	0%

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