Barnet (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Rental costs in Barnet have surged by 7% over the past year, according to new data, sparking concern among residents about affordability in the borough.
The campaign organization Generation Rent cautioned that “rents continue to rise faster than our wages” and encouraged the government to enact rent increases, even if the yearly growth in rental costs throughout Great Britain has been declining.
According to preliminary ONS data, the average private rent in Barnet increased by 7% from £1,766 per month to £1,886 per month in the year ending in August.
Additionally, compared to an expected £1,488 per month five years earlier, it was up 27%.
In order to gather information on roughly 10% of the market, valuation office agency rent officers gather pricing from a range of sources, such as landlords and letting brokers.
The average rent in London was £2,253, which was 6% more than the previous year.
At £3,614 a month, Kensington and Chelsea had the highest rental prices in the area, while Bexley had the lowest at £1,512.
In August, the average monthly private rent in Great Britain was £1,360. This annual growth rate was lower than the 5.9% growth rate in the 12 months prior to July, even though it was £73, or 5.7%, more than it was a year earlier.
Ben Twomey, Generation Rent chief executive, said:
“Homes are the foundations of our lives, but rents continue to rise faster than our wages, swallowing more and more of our income.
High rents push people into homelessness and trap them in temporary accommodation, they pull children into poverty and prevent people from saving for the future.
We rightly have caps on our energy and water bills, but the same protections don’t exist to stop landlords from pricing us out of our homes.
The government can and must act through devolving powers to Mayors to limit rent increases in their areas.”
According to other ONS data released earlier this week, total salary growth, including bonuses, increased from 4.6% in the three months to June to 4.7% in the quarter to July.
The preliminary numbers also demonstrate the varying prices for different Barnet dwellings, ranging from £1,450 for a one-bedroom home to £3,100 for a home with four or more bedrooms in August.
The types of properties in the area include:
- A detached housed cost £2,934 to rent per month
- A semi-detached cost £2,484 per month
- A terraced house was £2,149 per month
- And a flat or maisonette was £1,685 a month
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said:
“The best way to reduce rents is to boost supply, and we will build 1.5 million homes to restore the dream of homeownership.
We will give people security through our Renters’ Rights Bill, empower tenants to challenge rent hikes and have been clear we will not allow rent controls – which make it harder to find an affordable home.”
How will recent rent hikes affect affordability for residents in Barnet?
Residents of Barnet are already dedicating a significant share of their income to rent, with average rents absorbing between 63.7% and 93.5% of household income in some areas, effectively leaving little disposable income for other necessities (food, transport, health care).
The increase of an average of 7% in private rents only adds to costs and strengthens the ongoing affordability crisis which we may likely see households struggling with meeting their housing cost obligations.
Rent increases burden households, but particularly low-income families, who will then have limited maneuverability in their budgets, and even less choice of affordable housing.