Renters have seen a bigger jump in monthly housing costs over the last three years than people with mortgages, research from Zoopla found.
Average rents in the UK now stand at £1,283 a month, £129 higher than the average mortgage repayment, which is £1,154 a month.
Since 2022, monthly mortgage payments have gone up by £218, while rents for new lets have risen by £221.
Rents have gone up fastest in areas where demand for rented homes has outstripped supply.
In Oldham, Wigan and Bolton, rents rose over 31% in three years, starting from a lower base.
London has seen the largest rises in cash terms, with some areas such as Ilford up by as much as £400 a month.
Rising demand after the pandemic, a strong jobs market and higher migration for work and study have pushed more people into rented homes.
Additionally, data showed that higher mortgage rates have made it harder to buy, keeping more first-time buyers (FTBs) renting and driving up demand further.
At the same time, the number of homes available for rent has stayed about the same, as few landlords have added properties.
Earnings have also gone up, helping to support higher rents, but people on lower incomes and those relying on benefits have felt the squeeze of rising costs the hardest.
Rent rises for new lets have now slowed to their lowest rate for four years as demand has dropped and mortgage conditions for buyers have improved.
The ability of renters to pay is also putting a limit on further rises.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “A shift to higher mortgage rates raised alarm over how mortgagees would be able to afford higher repayments over the last three years.
“The sales market has been resilient thanks to mortgage regulations that ensured borrowers could afford higher mortgage rates.
“Renters have faced similarly steep increases in the cost of renting in recent years with rents pushed higher on string demand and limited supply of homes for rent which has hit lower income renters hardest.”
Donnell added: “Rental inflation for new lets has slowed to its lowest rate for four years which will be welcome news for Britain’s private renters.
“The quickest way to alleviate high rents is to grow the stock of homes for rent in both the social and private rented sectors.
“Growing housing supply is a key Government target and its vital that the stock of rented homes is expanded across all tenures.”
Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, said: “Many landlords in the private rented sector have faced significant increases to their overall costs, with tax hikes, mortgage rises, as well as continuous regulatory hurdles, which are ultimately making investment less attractive and potentially more risky.
“This has played a key factor in rent rises, as well as worsening the gap in supply and demand levels.
“Nearly half of all landlords only own one property, showing that many will be unable to justify their current or future investments if costs and regulations continue to increase.”
Emerson added: “We need Government acknowledgment of the importance that the private rented sector plays in housing the nation and urgent support to boost the supply of homes and crucially, bring down rent levels long term.”
