Rent in Luton rises 10% in past year

It comes as campaign group Generation Rent said rent caps must be introduced to stop people being "priced out" of their homes.

Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics show the average private rent in Luton reached £1,182 per month in the year to May – up 10 per cent from £1,079 a year prior.

It was also up 34 per cent from an estimated £885 a month five years ago.

Data on rent prices is collected by the Valuation Office Agency from a variety of sources, including landlords and letting agents, with the aim of collecting data on approximately 10 per cent of the market.

Across the East of England, the average rent was £1,236 – rising 8 per cent from the year before.

St Albans had the highest rental cost in the region at £1,864 per month, while the lowest was in Great Yarmouth at £775.

In May, the average private rent in Great Britain was £1,351 per month. This was £88, or 7 per cent, higher than 12 months ago.

Despite annual rent inflation slowing across all countries, Generation Rent said it does not undo the "enormous" rent rises seen in recent years.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of the campaign group, said: "It shows how the unchecked cost of renting since the pandemic has stretched renters so thin that we simply can't afford to pay any more."

He added: "We rightly have caps on our energy and water bills, but the same protections don't exist to stop landlords from hiking rents as they please.

"The Government must act to urgently stop soaring rents before even more of us are priced out of our homes."

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, said the private rental sector is "facing much evolution" as the Renters’ Rights Bill in England approaches its final stages in Westminster.

He said: "These pieces of legislation will bring seismic change for those who rent and will represent some of the biggest differences within the rental market in decades.

"There has been much discussion and immense concern for many landlords, with considerable numbers contemplating selling their properties, with the potential to lessen supply even further."