A survey conducted by Generation Rent has revealed that 60% of private renters were asked to pay higher rent in the past year, highlighting a significant increase in rental costs. This number reflects a marked growth from 50% in November and 45% from 12 months ago.
According to the survey, the number of tenants who reported their landlord passing on rising interest rates has tripled from 4% to 12% since November. The most common reason cited for rent increases was a rise in market rents, affecting 17% of private renters.
The situation has also led to a concerning spike in evictions, with 20% of private renters being told to move out in the past 12 months, including 12% being served a no-fault Section 21 notice. This represents an increase from 14% in November, when 9% had been served such a notice.
Of those facing rent increases, 20% were asked to pay more than £100 more per month, a jump from 12% in November. Alarmingly, 66% of people facing such significant increases are now paying them, with only a small portion able to negotiate it down or move out as a result.
Generation Rent’s analysis further estimates that 14% of private tenancies, equivalent to around 800,000 households, are vulnerable to unsustainable increases in mortgage rates. This indicates that interest rates are less influential in setting rents than broader market forces.
Adding to the rental market’s current crisis are several concerning practices. Mass viewings have risen from 9% five years ago to 39% in the past year, and tenants being drawn into bidding wars have dramatically increased from 3% pre-2018 to 21%.
Generation Rent is urgently calling on the government to abolish Section 21 evictions and make it easier to challenge rent rises through the Renters Reform Bill. The organization emphasizes that tenants need protection from unaffordable rent hikes and, if landlords need to sell, measures should be introduced to encourage them to sell with sitting tenants.
Additionally, the Government is urged to relink Local Housing Allowance with market rents and invest in building more homes in desirable locations.
Ben Twomey, chief executive, Generation Rent, said: “A cost of renting crisis is forcing tenants to bear the worst of the economic turmoil right now.
“While many mortgage holders have yet to see their monthly payments increase, most private renters have already faced a rent hike this past year.
“So far only a minority of landlords have been affected so badly by rising rates that they are passing them on to tenants.
“But the rising cost of rent is a much wider problem caused by the failure to build enough homes where people want to live, and the ability of landlords to raise rents regardless of what their tenant can afford.
“The Government’s response to this needs to put tenants first: prevent unaffordable rent increases, and protect tenants in their homes if their landlord needs to sell.
“Tenants relying on benefits need their housing support raised to cover what rents actually cost, and, to meet demand, we need a massive programme of building, particularly of social housing.”
