In 2023, the cumulative rent paid by tenants in Great Britain is projected to reach £85.6bn, a substantial increase from £77.6bn in 2022, and more than double the figure from 2010.
This year, rents for new tenancies climbed by 10.2% from the previous year, the highest November increase since 2014.
Millennials, pressed by rising mortgage rates, have contributed a record £36.9bn to the total rent, while Generation Z’s rental expenditure stands at £30.5bn, up £6.3bn from last year. This marks the largest annual increase among all generations.
London renters alone have paid out £32.1bn, exceeding the combined rent of several other regions. Rental growth has been most pronounced in Inner London, with a 13.2% increase in new tenancies.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “Tenants across Great Britain paid a record £85.6bn in rent in 2023, equivalent to the total value of all homes sold in London last year. While over the last 12 months the rent bill has increased because of record-breaking rental growth, longer-term it’s mostly risen as a result of more households renting.
“Higher interest rates in the medium term are likely to mean more millennials rent for longer. This is why the millennial rent bill has risen over the last few years, at a time when it might have been expected to fall. With the rate at which millennials climb onto the housing ladder slowing, they’re starting their own families and renting larger, more expensive homes which is pushing up the amount of rent they pay.
“This also means that while Gen Z are set to start paying more rent than millennials in the next couple of years, that crossover is likely to come later and at a higher point. And given that it gets progressively harder to get onto the housing ladder later in life, an era of higher rates will likely mean that more millennials will be renting for the rest of their lives.”
