The gap in rents paid by those in the north and south of England has closed to its lowest level in at least 11 years, figures have shown.
In its latest monthly lettings index, the property company Hamptons reported that the average rent paid by tenants in the north of England in August was £960 a month, an increase of 9.6% compared with the same period last year.
This was 37% (£357) lower than the £1,317 that the average renter in the south of the country pays – the smallest percentage gap since Hamptons began publishing the index in 2013.
It is a significant reduction from the 43% gap recorded last year, and the 55% peak in 2021.
Aneisha Beveridge, the head of research at Hamptons, said the gap had been narrowing for five years and reflected a similar trend in the homebuying market.
She added: “It’s only been in the last year that the gap has really started to narrow beyond the point we’ve previously seen.
“This has been driven by the slowing of rental growth across southern England caused by greater affordability pressures.”
Rents have continue to grow in the south, recording a 5% rise compared with last year.
Hamptons defines the north as the north-east and north-west of England, as well as Yorkshire & Humber, while the south is made up of London, the east of England, and the south-east & south-west of the country.
The index showed north-east England had the biggest increase, with rents up by 12.1% year-on-year.
London recorded the smallest rent rises at just 2.1% year-on-year, down from the 17.1% increase recorded in August last year.
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However, Beveridge said: “While tenants in the south have seen weaker growth in percentage terms, in cash terms, they’ve faced big rises.”
In inner London, a 7.9% increase across the year amounted to renters paying an average of £3,318 a month, £242 more than last year. In the Midlands a 7.2% increase amounted to £66 more a month.
Last Thursday, the government introduced the renters reform bill, which includes a number of changes to renters’ rights in England, including the banning of no-fault evictions, as well as a ban on landlords renting out properties for more than advertised.
However, the National Residential Landlords Association, which represents 110,000 landlords, has said that the new bill could see landlords increasing rents in some cases.