Almost 2 million households look set to be affected, with the increases adding about £550 to their annual housing costs. Collectively, British tenants could end up paying as much as £1.1 billion more over the course of 2011.
The news will come as a bitter blow to tenants already struggling with rising inflation and the extra expense of the VAT hike. It will also make life that much harder for those trying to save up a deposit to allow them to leave rental housing and get on to the property ladder.
Click here to read the full story Tenants to be hit with billion pound rent hike
NetRent Comment
Adding an extra £550 a year to a rent equates to an increase of just short of £46 per month. We do not believe that most landlords will achieve rent increases as big as this during 2011. However, if interest rates start to rise landlords may be forced to increase their rent.
Demand for rented property is increasing and tenants may find that they are forced into paying higher rents to secure the property they want.
