UK renters are collectively paying around £650 million more now than they were last year, according to new findings.
That’s even more than King Charles’ personal net worth, which The Sunday Times Rich List estimates to be around £600 million (and that’s... a lot).
But is anyone surprised?
Almost a quarter of adults across the country are privately renting right now, so there’s no getting away from the rapidly climbing costs which tenants are having to fork out for.
With the cost of living crisis – triggered by double-digit inflation and subsequently soaring interest rates – most renters are being charged more by their landlords.
And, according to a survey from accommodation app Kindroom, most renters have seen their average monthly rent increase by 5.4% compared to this time last year.
That works out at a hike of around £67.50 per tenant, taking the total average monthly rent to around £1,250 a month.
The study also found that 77% of the renters surveyed had experienced an increase in their rent over the last year.
So where did the £650 million figure come from? Well, just under a quarter of the UK population (12,576,000 people, according to Kindroom) are currently renting in the private sector.
Looking at these tenants alone, that means – collectively – rents are now £653,637,600 higher than they were last year.
And, it’s worth remembering that three in every five survey respondents said their rent is currently 80% of their monthly salary (or more).
To put that into perspective, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) believes that an affordable property is one where tenants spend approximately 30% of their income on rent.
No wonder it feels like budgeting is getting harder and harder.
Kindroom’s study of 2,400 people found that only 1% of respondents spent just a fifth of their salary on rent, while 5% needed two-fifths of their salary.
Around 32% said their rent cost three-fifths of their salary, 51% said it cost four-fifths, while 11% said it cost almost all of their income.
Although this shows a huge range, two-thirds of respondents admitted their current rent rate was “completely unsustainable”, with many looking to credit, borrowing money, and requesting a pay rise to cope.
Meanwhile, 17% of respondents said they feared eviction.
After all, the Ministry of Justice recently found the number of tenants being evicted by private landlords is increasing, just for failing to reach their rent.
Homeless charity Shelter has also pointed out that there are almost 2.5 million renters who are either behind or struggling to pay their rent. That’s a rise of 45% since April 2022.
Tthese high rents are not expected to decline any time soon either, as demand is much higher than the current supply of suitable rental properties in the UK.
Kindroom also found almost a third of its respondents had gone without food in the cost of living crisis – and 9% admitted to stealing on at least one occasion.
In fact, rising grocery prices are one of the main drivers of inflation, which is still at a 40-year-high. ONS data revealed only this week how food prices have increased by the largest jump since August 1977, too.
