Rent2Rate

2017 saw a peak in the total amount of rent all of Britain’s landlords together took, with 2018 the first year in the last ten that there’s been a decline.

In 2018, £1.9 billion less was taken in aggregate UK rents that in 2017, that’s according to new research by Hampton’s International.

In 2018 the total amount of rent paid to private landlords in Britain amounted to £59.1 billion, which was £1.9 billion less than in 2017. This, according to Hamptons, is the first annual fall in over 10 years – see the chart below. The fall is attributed to a drop in the number of households renting and slowing rental growth.

Main points from the research:

• Tenants in Great Britain paid £59.1 billion in rent in 2018, £1.9 billion less than in 2017
• Over the last 10 years the total rent bill has grown by £29.9 billion in Great Britain
• Nine out of 11 regions saw their total rent bill fall last year, but London saw the biggest drop of (-£0.62 billion)
• The rate of rental growth has slowed over the last 12 months in Great Britain. In January the average cost of a new let rose 0.6% year-on-year compared with 2.4% in January 2018

Over the last year, nine out of 11 regions in Great Britain saw a fall in their total rent bill. The East Midlands (£0.13 billion) and the North East (£0.06 billion) were the only regions to see a rise. London saw the biggest drop of all in the total amount of rent paid by tenants. Tenants in the capital paid £20.6 billion in rent in 2018, £0.62 billion less than in 2017.

Over the last ten years, the total rental bill has increased considerably in every region. The biggest rise in the amount of rent paid by tenants was in London where the total rental bill grew by £10.53 billion over the 10-year period. After London, tenants in the South East (£14.19 billion) and the East (£3.05 billion) saw their rental bills rise the most. Meanwhile Wales saw the smallest rise in the total amount of rent paid by tenants over the last decade, up £0.07 billion (table 2).

Head of Research at Hamptons International, Aneisha Beveridge says:

“The total amount of rent paid by tenants in Great Britain fell for the first time in over a decade last year. Despite average rents rising 0.4% in 2018, fewer people renting homes meant the total rent bill shrank by £1.9 billion since 2017.”

“Over the last 12 months rental growth in Great Britain has slowed. Rental growth has fallen from 2.4% in January 2018 to 0.6% last month. The slowdown over the last year was mainly driven by London, but rents are now gradually starting to rise again in the capital. Meanwhile the South East and South West both recorded falling rents last month.”

Hampton’s says the rate of rental growth has slowed over the last 12 months in Great Britain. In January the average cost of a new let rose 0.6% year-on-year compared with 2.4% in January 2018. London led the slowdown over the last year, but rents have gradually started to rise again. The average cost of a new let in the capital rose 0.6% year-on-year in January. Meanwhile the South East and South West both recorded rents falling -0.5% year-on-year.