Monday 18 March 2013

Majority of UK Renters Unaffected by Rent Rises in 2012


Nearly three quarters of UK landlords have frozen or cut their rents in the last year, according to research from Shelter today.
A survey of 4,300 renters reveals 26 per cent were affected by rising rents over the past 12 months while 74 per cent were unaffected.
British Property Federation director Ian Fletcher says: “These figures suggest that for most tenants, private sector rents are not rising at all, and official statistics show that nationally they are not exceeding inflation.
“Shelter’s stable rental contract has some good intentions, but it isn't clear what impact it would have – for example, Shelter should clarify if it is calling for rents to be index-linked to RPI or to CPI. Even the difference between these two figures is very important because the consequences could leave millions of tenants or landlords financially worse off.”
Shelter is using the data as the basis of an argument in favour of a stable rental contract, meaning that rents would rise in line with inflation on an annual basis.