Eastern areas see strongest rental growth in the past year, says lender

Rents in the UK grew by an average, and tiny, 0.69 per cent in the year to the end of February, reaching a typical £1,199 per month if London is included.

The figures, from specialist lender LandBay, show East Midlands rents rising faster than any other UK region with rents up 2.24 per cent year on year, followed by the East of England on 1.58 per cent.

Leicester (up 3.42 per cent) and Nottingham (up 3.30 per cent) led rental growth in the East Midlands, both surpassing the current rate of UK inflation

However, despite high growth, renting remains more affordable in the East Midlands (£626) and East of England (£910) than London (£1,878) and the South East (£1,053)

John Goodall, chief executive and founder of Landbay, says: “Much like Britain’s weather, rental growth was heavily impacted by the east in February. With its more affordable rents, the east is seemingly becoming an increasingly attractive buy to let region and as a result greater competition is driving up rents.” 

He continues: “At a national level, an uplift in rents has been on the cards for a while and is likely to continue into 2018. The Prime Minister has this week vowed to get tough with property developers who sit on planning permissions, but if we truly want to control rental and house price growth we need to build more homes, not just plan them. 

“Areas in the East Midlands and East of England, such as Leicester and Nottingham, where rental growth is reaching particularly unsustainable levels, should be the prioritised focus for the government, developers and landlords.”