A new analysis shows that one in five rental properties across Britain costs as much per month as a typical income pays.
Benham and Reeves analysed current rental market stock looking at asking rents and how these compare to the earnings of the average person – £35,481 per year or £2,957 per month.
The analysis found that 22% of properties are currently listed with a monthly asking rent at, or above, average monthly earnings of £2,957.
Almost half (47%) of London rental properties commanded an asking rent in excess, whilst the East Midlands saw just 2.5%.
Super-prime rents – where average monthly asking rent is at, or above, the £35,000 average annual income – accounts for just 0.3% of all current rental listings.
These super prime lets are almost exclusively located in London, accounting for 96%, with a handful across the South East, North West and South West.
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, comments: “Rents have soared in recent times and our research demonstrates just how tough it is for the average person, with one in five rental properties commanding asking rents that require an entire month’s income or more.
“Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight when it comes to the rental crisis and this is largely due to the fact that we simply don’t have an adequate level of stock to meet demand – an issue our new Labour government seems set on exacerbating.
“As a result, we’re seeing properties let at pace, often before they’ve even reached the market, with numerous tenants all fighting it out for a single property, which, of course, drives prices ever higher.
“If we don’t incentivise landlords to invest into the buy-to-let sector in order to address the imbalance of supply and demand then who knows, we might all be looking at a monthly rent of thirty odd thousand pounds a month before too long.”
