Rents drop as lettings market hunkers down for winter

The average rent in the UK is now £1,174 pcm, down 0.1 per cent from December after seeing the first month-on-month decrease in over a year.

When London is excluded, the average rent in the UK is £977 pcm - with no variation from the previous month.

This data comes from HomeLet, which bases its findings on just-agreed tenancies.

It says average rents in London have seen a 0.2 per cent decrease from last month, although rents in the capital remain over the average of £2,007 pcm.

The North East of England saw the largest monthly variance, with rents 1.4 per cent lower than last month, dropping to £618 pcm.

Commenting on the latest data, Andy Halstead - HomeLet & Let Alliance chief executive, says:  “The last month of 2022 saw the first drop in the average UK rental price for over a year (last time was November 2021), albeit a drop of just £1 month-on-month. 

“Even in the face of a minor dip, rental prices remain historically high, including December 2022 being only the second month on record in which the average Greater London rental property has been priced higher than £2,000 pcm. 

“The cost-of-living crisis is continuing to bite, and the current situation is offering little to ease the fears of landlords concerned about their tenants’ ability to pay their rent, an issue previously highlighted in our survey of over 1,000 landlords with Dataloft, where 40 per cent named inability of tenants to pay their rent as their main fear for 2023. 

“With this in mind, our prediction for 2023 is that rental prices will likely continue to rise, despite spiralling costs for tenants in other areas of their lives. Tenants struggling to pay their rent is sadly likely to become a recurring theme across the country, and in turn, this could lead to some landlords vacating an already struggling market. This will likely result in a continued shortage of rental properties to meet demand.”