Up! Up! Up! - Rents rise for the fifth consecutive quarter

Average UK rents increased for the fifth consecutive quarter in Q4 2021 according to The Deposit Protection Service, as stock shortages continue.

Average rents reached £834 during the final three months of 2021, an increase of £16 or 1.96 per cent on the previous quarter and a £42 or 5.3 per cent increase on Q3 2020.

South West rents, which traditionally lag behind the national average, drew level for the first time, rising by £54 or 6.92 per cent from £780, the largest regional percentage increase during the past 12 months.

Average rents have increased across all property types since Q3 2021, with rents on detached properties increasing the most; on average by 8.34 per cent over the past year. 

The DPS also said that Q4 2021 rents also rose across most of England – with London, the South West, and Yorkshire seeing the largest value rises – contributing to an annual UK average rent increase of just over 4.0 per cent for 2021.

Matt Trevett, the organisation’s managing director, says: “During Q4 2021 rents increased in the vast majority of UK regions and across all property types, with demand for detached properties driving the greatest increase in rental value for these properties.

“Our figures also show that renters were less likely to move during the past 12 months, suggesting lower availability of stock and therefore perhaps more limited options for moving.

“We’re also seeing definitive signs of recovery in London, particularly the return of the popularity of flats in some areas, suggesting that some tenants are coming back to the capital.”

Outside London rents in the city of York saw one of the highest increases: £71 (9.49 per cent) from £748 to £819 during Q4 2021, a rise of £120 or 17.17 per cent over the 12 month period. 

Conversely, the organisation said the city of Southampton saw one of the largest falls in rental value during Q4 2021, decreasing £122 or 15.12 per cent from £807 to £685.

During Q4 2021 London rents increased for the second consecutive quarter, ending 2021 at £1,381, an increase of £42 (3.14 per cent), the highest value regional increase, and a £64 (4.86 per cent) increase on the same quarter during 2020.

The London borough of Islington saw the sharpest value rise in rent during Q4 2021, an increase of £273 (19.6 per cent), from £1,393 to £1,666, added the organisation.