Sir Kier Starmer insists that a Labour government would make it a priority to make housing more affordable by boosting the supply of new build housing and making bidding wars illegal.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live last week that his party would, if elected this week, “tackle the rental sector”.
“As you know private landlords are often getting tenants or would-be tenants to bid against each other in an upward spiral and that means rent goes up and up and up,” he said.
“Young people or people who want to buy their own home are paying a massive amount of their income in rent, and we have to stop that happening,” he explained.
“Rents are just going up because there are more people who need to rent than there are places to rent, and the prices are just going through the roof,” he added.
Starmer’s argument is supported by the latest in-depth analysis of rental market trends carried out by Goodlord.
The rental index shows that rents in June 2024 rose by 6.7% year-on-year, with the average per property cost of rent for tenancies confirmed in June reaching £1,225 per calendar month (pcm).
Regionally, the most significant year-on-year rise was recorded in the South West, where prices rose from £1,191pcm in 2023 to £1,347pcm. This is an increase of 13%.
In London, rents broke the £2,000pcm mark for the first time this year. An average of £2,010pcm was recorded for properties in the capital during June (up 2% year-on-year).
June traditionally marks the beginning of ‘high season’ for rental prices. Buoyed by demand from students, rents typically peak between June and September. Last year, rents peaked in July at £1,367pcm per property, on average.
During every year since 2019, the Rental Index has recorded a rise in rental prices between June and July, meaning even higher rental prices should be expected next month.
Between May and June, Goodlord says average rents rose by 4% month-on-month – from £1,183pcm to £1,225pcm – with all but one region recording an increase in rents.
The highest monthly rise was recorded in the South West (14%), followed by the North East (4%) and North West (4%)
The smallest monthly rises were recorded in the South East (1%) and Greater London (1%)
The West Midlands saw a very small reduction in average rental prices (-0.42%).
Alongside the rise in rents, voids significantly shortened in June. The average void period – the number of days a property remains vacant between tenancies – was 17 days in June. This is down from 21 days in May, a 19% reduction.
June’s 17 day average was, however, slightly longer than the void period recorded this time last year, in June 2023, when voids were 16 days.
William Reeve, CEO of Goodlord, commented: “There is a lot of discussion as to whether the pace of rental price rises is starting to slow. The next three months – which typically bring the annual peak in rents – will settle this debate.
“Right now, if this year’s current trajectory of consistent 6-7% year-on-year rent rises continues, we’ll see new records broken across England. And whilst a lot of the current signs indicate that this might be on the cards, we would need to see a very sizeable jump in rents over the next 4-8 weeks to surpass 2023 averages. However, it’s safe to say that market demand clearly remains very strong and that this continues to push rents up month-on-month.”
Daily news email from EYE
Enter your email below to receive the latest news each morning direct to your inbox.