Average private rental costs increased 9 per cent in the year to February, new figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal.
At £1,238 per month on average across Britain, the acceleration in average monthly costs is the highest since records began at the ONS in 2015.
Tenants are, on average, paying £102 per more in rent per month than they were a year ago.
During the period, average monthly rents climbed to £1,276 per month in England, £723 in Wales and £944 in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, average monthly rental costs rose by 9.3 per cent.
Tenants in London saw the biggest spike, with rental costs surging by 10.6 per cent to a chunky average of £2,035.
Use the map below to check out prices in your area – you can filter by number bedrooms:
The average private rent was highest in London’s Kensington and Chelsea, at £3,248 per month.
Last month, the lowest average monthly rental cost could be found in the North East of England.
In the North East, annual rent inflation reached 5.7 per cent in February, with tenants paying around £658 per month.
Excluding London, the local area with the highest average private rental cost in February was Bristol, at £1,734 per month.
The 9 per cent increase in UK rental costs surpassed the 8.5 per cent jump seen in the year to January, according to the ONS.
It said: ‘Rising annual inflation between late-2021 and mid-2023, followed by slight ease in annual inflation, is likely to reflect recent changes in annual inflation for new lets (that are not subject to the price cap).’
While rental costs are rising, average property prices are edging down on an annual basis. The ONS said average UK house prices fell 0.6 per cent in the year to January, to £282,000.
Ups and downs: Rental costs are rising while property prices are falling, the ONS said
Variations: London tenants have faced the steepest hike in average monthly rental costs
During the period, the average private rent across the UK was highest for detached properties, at £1,438, and lowest for flats and maisonettes, at £1,201 a month.
Homes with four or more bedrooms had an average monthly cost of £1,901, while properties with one bedroom came closer to the £987 mark.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: ‘These figures are shocking but not surprising – we’ve been feeling the impact of sky-high rents and unaffordable rent increases since 2021 and we have reached the very end of what we can afford.
‘As the cost of living crisis apparently eases, the cost of renting crisis is continuing at pace.
‘Renters are being squeezed to their absolute limit and something has got to give.
‘Nine per cent increases in a year across all tenancies is well above the rate our wages are rising, illustrating how badly renters are protected.
‘This is not just down to landlords’ costs going up – more than half of privately rented homes have no mortgage attached to them – so clearly landlords are raising the rent just because their tenants have no choice but to pay these prices.’
