The average rent price in the UK for March 2022 is £1,078
March’s figure is 0.8% higher than February’s and 8.7% more expensive than in March 2021.
Excluding London, the average price is now £910, up 0.9% since last month.
The South West has seen the most significant MOM increase, with rental prices rising 1.8% since last month, to £1,017 PCM.
Greater London’s average rent has risen 11.6% year-on-year and 0.7% month-on-month to an average price of £1,770.
Scotland has seen the highest annual rise (12.9%) and is now £770 PCM.
The North East is the cheapest area to rent in the UK, with the average rent now at £589, up 1.0% compared to last month.
Commenting on the latest data, CEO Andy Halstead had the following to say:
2As predicted in recent Rental Index commentary, demand will continue to outstrip supply, and when that is the case, rent prices will surely continue to grow. The March figures are a perfect example of this, with the average rental price for the UK rising almost an entire percentage point in the space of a single month.
Issues surrounding the cost of living and energy prices have been widely reported in recent weeks, and it will be in absolutely no one’s interest if a lack of supply means that rental properties continue to be so hard to come by for consumers. The country is reliant on a strong rental market, a fact that was underlined again and again throughout the peak of the pandemic.
Our group will complete over a million checks for new tenancies in 2022; we’ve seen the level of fraudulent applications triple in the last few years. As demand and rental prices rise, fraudsters are trying to obtain access to properties to support criminal activity or illegally sublet it. Selecting suitable tenants is crucial for a successful tenancy, and we’re seeing the sophistication increase with fraudulent activity. The need for trusted checks that use technology with the support of experienced referencing professionals has never been more critical. Landlords are becoming more aware of the risks, with the need for trusted checks and the support professional managing agents can provide in today’s market."
Andy Halstead, HomeLet and Let Alliance Chief Executive Officer
The Rental Index data is qualified through high-quality tenant referencing, carried out on behalf of over 4,500 UK letting agents. As a group we reference over 1m tenants a year, enabling reporting on newly agreed tenancy applications, with historic data for over 13m tenancy applications.