Rent prices reach record high in April

The price of living in rental properties reached a record high in April, costing an average of £692 per month.

The figures released today show that landlords are now charging tenants an average of £30 more than they did this time last year.

BBC News report that landlords in London and The South East were seeing the biggest profits whilst the East of England was the only region where rental prices had not risen.

David Newnes, who was part of the team that drew up the figures, said that the warm weather may have been a factor in prices matching the previous record from November 2010.

He told The Guardian: "The rental market is heating up as thousands of would-be tenants have taken advantage of the weather and long weekends to hunt for new rental homes.''

"Even a slightly stronger supply of property has failed to cool rental inflation as landlords take advantage of the growing number of mortgage products available."

Landlords will be pleased to hear Newnes' predictions that the cost of renting could spiral higher as lending to first-time buyers looks set to remain subdued.

Rental prices were 0.8 per cent higher on average in April compared to the previous month and 4.4 per cent higher than April 2010.

Posted 20-05-2011
Author: Joe Elvin