London rental growth slows as mortgage rates fall, says Hamptons
Hamptons, the estate agency, had anticipated that rents would rise by 4.5 per cent this year, but has now reduced its forecast to 1 per cent. If its estimate proves correct, it would be the smallest annual increase in rents since 2018.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, which is owned by the Connells Group, said the 'faster-than-expected market slowdown' was due to a combination of falling mortgage rates and the weakening labour market.
The number of people looking to rent, which had been tracking well ahead of pre-pandemic levels in recent years, has fallen by 11 per cent compared with last summer and 19 per cent below 2019 levels.
'The rental market has softened more quickly than we anticipated towards the end of last year,' Beveridge said. 'What initially appeared to be a London-centric slowdown has now spread across the country. More affluent renters are becoming first-time buyers, while the economic slowdown is limiting what others can afford.'
The average rent on a newly-let property in June was 0.4 per cent higher than in the same month last year, which was the weakest annual rate of rental inflation since August 2020, according to Hamptons.
Average rents fell in London, Scotland and Wales. The biggest increase was in the Midlands, where rents were up 3.3 per cent year-on-year, and in the northwest of England, where annual rental inflation was running at 2.8 per cent in June.
• What does the Renters' Rights Bill mean for landlords and tenants?
The data will be welcomed by the millions of renters around the country who have seen their costs jump over the past five years. Excluding London, the average cost of renting a home in the UK is now £1,133 a month, according to Hamptons, an increase of 39 per cent, or £317, since the start of 2020.
Despite the recent slowdown, Beveridge said, 'this isn't the end of the rental growth story'. Although she has pulled back her forecasts slightly, she still expects rents to rise by 3.5 per cent next year, followed by 3 per cent in 2027.
'The structural shortage of rental homes remains unresolved and upcoming regulatory changes, such as the Renters' Rights Bill and new EPC [Energy performance certificate] requirements, are likely to constrain supply further and add to landlords' costs,' she said.
'A slowdown in build-to-rent development this year is also expected to result in fewer new rental homes entering the market in the coming years. These pressures will continue to underpin rental growth over the medium-term, even as the market recalibrates in the short-term.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Lime bikes to be banned in London borough - with rival companies handed rental e-bike firm's contract
A west London borough is set to ban Lime bikes following complaints of 'anti-social' parking on pavements and hand over contracts to a rival e-bike rental firm instead Hounslow Council terminated its two-year agreement with Lime due to riders blocking pavements and the high price. It comes as a victory to competing e-bike companies Forest and Voi who have both been given contracts to set up their bikes in the borough instead. Lime have the monopoly on e-bikes across London, owning most of the estimated 30,000 in the city. Companies submitted their bids for the highly-desirable contracts during a competitive procurement process. A council spokesperson said the decision was 'shaped by widespread community feedback' which found residents wanted 'stronger parking compliance, faster response times to resident concerns, and more tailored and affordable pricing'. A spokesperson for Lime told The Telegraph: 'Despite acknowledging the quality of our service was higher in our bid, Hounslow council selected another provider because it offered them more money. 'This is a really disappointing outcome for the thousands of Hounslow residents that rely on our bikes daily to connect to other areas of London.' The City of London seized more than 100 e-bikes in February amid a clampdown on pavement parking and dangerously dumped e-bikes. James Bolton, Voi's UK general manager, said: 'We're delighted to win this contract and extend our London e-bike pilot to Hounslow. 'We will work responsibly and closely with the council to ensure our scheme works for everyone in the borough, stretching from Bedfont Lakes Country Park in the west to Chiswick House Gardens in the east. A Forest spokesperson said: 'The Hounslow tender was a highly competitive process and we're delighted our bid stood out.' Lime bikes have become a nuisance for people who find them stacked up outside their homes, blocking walkways or abandoned in the road. Charities including the Sight Loss Council and the National Federation of the Blind of the UK have repeatedly warned councils about the bikes posing a trip hazard or unnecessary obstacles for blind people. Last month actor Robert Powell, 81, revealed he 'sent 570 photographs' to Camden Council showing the bikes taking over his doorstep. The Bafta-nominated actor urged the council to take action, saying that he and his wife, Barbara Lord, once counted at least 100 bikes in a parking bay in front of their Highgate home. 'You've got two octogenarians here who are in danger of being killed,' Powell said. 'The entire pavement has been blocked by bikes. Camden say they prioritise safety and safer travel, so do they know that allowing bikes on pavements is not safe for anyone? 'Last year we called the police about the bikes, they just laughed.' Riders can rent e-bikes on the street in London by picking them up with a mobile phone app, but they are often not required to put them in a designated area after use. This has led to them blocking pavements across the capital - with councils receiving thousands of complaints and some even threatening to ban hire firms altogether. Mr Powell admitted that he was 'terrified' of having a heart attack due to having to move 10 to 12 heavy bikes from the area each day. He said his GP has even written a letter to the council explaining how stressful the situation is for him and his wife. The spot is particularly busy as it is close to Hampstead Heath, the actor told the Camden New Journal. Camden Council responded by saying it is working to relocate the bay and has marked out a new bay further up the road. Last December, new powers to crack down on the scourge of e-bikes and e-scooters being dumped on pavements were hailed as the 'beginning of the end for the Wild West model'. Enforcement has however, become increasingly complex, although the new powers mean Mayor Sadiq Khan will able to fine users and operators who dump their devices in dangerous locations. It comes after Transport for London (TfL) warned rental e-bike operators could be fined as part of measures to tackle 'significant safety issues' around poor parking. In September, Brent Council threatened that Lime would have to remove its e-bikes from the borough by October 31 for allegedly ignoring its safety concerns amid 'havoc' caused by the cycles. But the council agreed to allow Lime to continue operating after the company addressed these concerns. In Hammersmith and Fulham, more than 100 e-bikes were seized by the council in August last year after complaints from residents that they were blocking roads and pavements. TfL revealed last November that rental e-bike operators could be fined as part of measures to fight back against poor parking in London. It published a new 'enforcement policy' in response to widespread concerns about e-bikes blocking pavements and said it will take action over dockless e-bikes being left on its red route road network outside designated places, and on its land such as station forecourts and bus garages. This brings e-bike regulations closer into line with those for rental e-scooters, which are already required to be parked in bays. It added that responses may include warning letters, fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to operators, prosecutions and removal of vehicles. FPNs would be £100 each, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Class warfare is back under this spiteful government – and we will ALL end up paying a ruinous price: LEO MCKINSTRY
The current government is increasingly running not on a desire to improve the country, or out of any kind of political mission - but on sheer spite. Having failed to achieve the elusive economic 'growth' he and his inept Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised before the election, Sir Keir Starmer is now trying to revive his fortunes by stoking class envy.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Premium Bonds: Unclaimed prizes from NS&I draws pass £100m
More than £100m of premium bond prizes remain unclaimed amid criticism that the government-owned bank which operates the savings scheme is not doing enough to find the the 2.5 million unclaimed prizes are 11 winners of £100,000 - the second-largest prize say the process to trace accounts needs reform as it is too difficult for people gifted Premium Bonds, or those who only ever had paper National Savings and Investments (NS&I) said it had paid more than 99% of the prize-winners since starting its tax-free draws in 1957. Wills and probate solicitor Patrice Lawrence said she had helped seven people trace accounts including clients, and friends and family."It's shocking that a government-owned bank is sitting on nearly £100m [in unclaimed prizes] that doesn't belong to it during a cost of living crisis," she told the Bonds are a lottery-style, government-backed savings account where people can put money in and take it out when they want. The amount of interest paid in return for each £1 bond is decided by a monthly prize draw, with some holders receiving nothing and others getting prizes from £25 all the way up to a £1m said every jackpot millionaire had received their money. Since the first draw in June 1957, its Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment - known as ERNIE - has drawn a total of 772 million prizes worth a combined £ Bonds prize winners should receive notifications of their winnings via text message, email or post if they have registered their customers, however, relocate and forget to update their bond holdings are not registered. For example, people may be unaware they were gifted bonds as children, or they were never given the paper certificate carrying the account retail director Andrew Westhead said the bank recognised bonds purchased before digitisation were "much harder to trace". Nearly 23 million people had Premium Bonds accounts worth a combined £130bn, as of the end of March originally contacted winners by post and sent cheques, but since 2011 holders could choose to have prizes paid directly into a bank account or reinvested in more bonds. The oldest unclaimed prize was £25 won in November 1957 in South Westhead said: "The £103m of prizes currently unclaimed represents just 0.28% of the total £37bn awarded by ERNIE over nearly seven decades."He said the bank provided information online and through its call centre on how to claim winnings, publicised details of unclaimed prizes and encouraged customers to use its prize can also use its tracing service to track down mislaid bonds, he also said that, as of the end of March 2025, it had been asked to carry out 781,576 those, 465,048 were successful, and 443,806 accounts had been found with value. The bank could not say how many of those people had their original paperwork. Melanie Clarke did not initially know what was in front of her when she found premium bond papers among her late father Hugo's mother explained some were a gift for her and her sister, while some remained in her parents' said: "They're quite delicate and flimsy…[I thought of the papers] what part of that is important? How do I found out any information about this?"Mr Clarke first came from Trinidad to the UK as an RAF Serviceman, aged 19, as part of the so-called Windrush did not leave a will when he died from natural causes related to vascular dementia in clearing his possessions Ms Clarke misplaced the paperwork, and is now in a weeks-long exchange with NS&I trying to trace the believes many people of her generation would have been bought Premium Bonds when they were children, but will have little idea how to trace their Richardson, deputy editor at consumer group Which? Money, said NS&I was not signed up to the government's own Tell Us Once service or its private equivalent, the Death Notification Service. The schemes help bereaved people by simplifying the process of notifying multiple organisations after a bank said its services "often required more individualised contact with executors" than the Tell Us Once scheme, but it wanted to be "as easy to use as possible... during difficult events". 'Computer says no' BBC Morning Live's resident money expert Iona Bain said NS&I needed to consider how it could improve."In theory, it shouldn't be the end of the world if you don't have the original certificate, perhaps because they've been mislaid or damaged," she said. "NS&I encourages people to come forward even if they only have basic details, as these can be matched up with what's in the system. "But the reality is more complicated. The majority of traces may be successful, but too many people have been left unhappy with what they feel is a 'computer says no' approach, even when they believe they have most of the details needed to find a match. "Whilst it can be administratively complex to track down historic money, NS&I needs to consider how it can improve this process so it's much less rigid, bureaucratic and frankly disappointing." Miss Lawrence has begun a petition calling for reform so names, dates of birth and address at time of purchase would be enough to locate an difficulties she has highlighted include:a lack of awareness about premium bonds paperwork when it is found among a relative's possessions after they have diedpeople who had paper bonds bought for them when they were minors not being aware they had to take steps to have the bonds transferred to them when they reach 16people finding bond certificates that have a holder's number, date and location of purchase, but the NS&I being unable to tell them to whom they belong How can you find your account? NS&I's tracing service can be contacted online, by post or over the phone, if people do not have their bond number or NS&I can also use MyLostAccount which is associated with UK Finance and the Building Societies Association, and can be used to trace old accounts with other providers as well as NS& with original paper bonds such as those purchased over the counter at the Post Office can register them online or call the helpline on 08085 007 007.A request can also be made for a trace by someone who is legally entitled to act on someone else's behalf, for example under a Power of Attorney or by an executor of a will. More about this storyThe Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media more about the Local News Partnerships here.
