This is how much it now costs to rent in London
Asking rents for new tenants hit a record high in March, with the average rent for a tenancy in the UK standing at £1,184 a month.
London continues to lead as the most expensive city to live in the UK, with tenants in the capital facing an average rent of £1,979 per month.
Read more: How much pension you need and how to build it
When London is excluded, the average rent in the UK is £993 per month, up 1% from the previous month, referencing and rent guarantee firm Homelet, which processes approximately a million tenancy applications every year, said.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has again called for a rent freeze for tenants to be implemented in the capital.
Rents are rising fastest in the North West of England, with tenants experiencing a 1.6% increase from last month, with average rents rising to £639 per month.
Our private rental market can’t continue like this—it’s not sustainable for Londoners who are struggling with other rising costs too.
The Govt must allow me to freeze rents in the capital. https://t.co/3oRGUWCRbX— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) April 2, 2023
“As every region of the country reports a month on month rental price rise, it’s fair to say that demand for rental properties remains exceptionally high,” Andy Halstead, CEO of HomeLet & Let Alliance, said.
“It had been interesting to observe a few months of decreased prices in London, but the capital appears to have recovered from a slight dip, in line with rises across the country.
“Given the insufficient housing stock and continued rising rents, rent guarantee becomes ever more essential for landlords and letting agents.”
Read more: UK tenants hit by rising rents amid house price increase
Overall, the average rent in the UK is now £1,184 per month, a 0.8% increase from last month’s average of £1,175.
The data from Homelet also shows that the number of suspicious or fraudulent tenancy applications has increased by 10% over the past 12 months to some 50,000 "red flag" references in total.
Watch: Am I wasting my money by renting?
Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.