Annual rent for newly let UK home £3,240 higher than 2021, research finds

Rents have been rising more slowly in places with high rental costs, such as London, where they are increasing by 1.3%, down from 8.7% a year ago. Photograph: Alex Segre/Alamy

The average cost of renting a newly let UK home is now £3,240 higher than at the end of the pandemic lockdowns, after three years of rental increases outstripping rises in earnings, research shows.

Rents have risen by 27% since 2021, the online property website Zoopla found, compared with a 19% increase in earnings, taking the annual cost of renting a property to £15,240, up from £12,000 in 2021.