Consumer champion Martin Lewis sighed and put his head in his hands as he issued a warning over rising rents on Good Morning Britain.
The Money Saving Expert fielded questions from people worried about their mortgages going up as well as tenants who were becoming increasingly concerned about their rent costs. Good Morning Britain viewer Sean sent a question in for Martin which was read out by Susanna Reid.
It said: "If mortgages are going up, what does that mean for people who pay for their properties? Are rents going to go up too?" As soon as Susanna said the word 'rent', the finance guru sighed and put his head in his hands.
Read More: Martin Lewis explains method to work out energy cost of household appliances
After taking a moment, Martin responded: "Probably. You would assume that many people who own properties have mortgages on them so their costs are going up and they will want to pass them onto consumers. You can also assume that less people may be buying which will put more people into the rental market."
The money-saving expert then added: "On the other hand, we have a cost of living crisis where people have less money so they may be willing to pay less for rents which could drive prices down. I'd probably go with the first option as most prices are going up so renting prices are likely to go up but we are not in a period of certainty at the moment."
Some Good Morning Britain viewers responded on Twitter to Martin Lewis' prediction to say that they were already seeing their rent costs rise, reports the Manchester Evening News. @rachelbyrne86 tweeted: "My council wrote to say they potentially will be raising my rent in line with inflation plus 1%, a total of 12%."
@RebeccaWebber89 said: "Rent has already gone up its not just a case of eat or heat its also how do you eat or heat when you can't afford the rent to keep the roof over your head, unfortunately this is now the case for a lot of families disabled carers etc something needs to be done to help." @Whgenie said: "Keep up... rents have been rising drastically for the last 6 months."
Read Next:
Martin Lewis explains little-known benefit grandparents can claim for childcare
Martin Lewis issues advice on best time to use your dryer after warnings of blackouts
Soaring winter energy bills will plunge more people into debt, charity warns
Sainsbury's is giving shoppers £52 extra to spend on food - here's how to claim
Sainsbury's issues list of foods you can freeze to help save money - from eggs to cheese
