Rent. Most of us pay it, all of us hate doing so. No one enjoys giving away up to half of their monthly salary – and the worst part is that it seems to just keep getting more and more expensive. It’s no secret that London is the most expensive place to live in the country, but recent research has revealed insights into where in England has seen the steepest increase in rents in the past year.
There’s nowhere in the country that hasn’t felt the pinch of the ongoing cost-of-living-crisis/recession double whammy, with private rents in England going up by an average of 8.8 percent since February 2023. In Scotland this is even higher, sitting at nearly 11 percent.
In short, we’re all feeling a bit hard done by. But it turns out that no one’s had it worse than those renting in the London borough of Brent, where private renting costs have gone up by a staggering 20 percent in only twelve months. The average home there now costs £1,824 a month, which is quite a lot.
The Kent authority of Folkestone and Hythe has seen costs rise almost as much as Brent, at a rate of 19.8 percent. The average for a month’s rent is significantly lower, however, sitting around £967, which is still a pretty hefty sum. Greenwich, once again in London, closes out the bottom three list, with an increase of 15.4 percent in the past year.
It’s not all bad news, though. Those who live in the Staffordshire moorlands haven’t seen any increase on average, and residents of the midlands locale Melton, and Newport in South Wales are paying less on average than they were this time last year.
Southerners, keep your chins up. Someday you may be able to find a home (without mould or damp) for less than the cost of an all inclusive holiday to the Bahamas. Until then, it’s good to know that if it all gets too much all you need to do is move to a literal moor to finally find stable rent.
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