An outrage: private rents have risen by as much as 72% in just TEN years

The latest research by Tlyfe, the UK’s housing tenant lifecycle app launched by OpenBrix, has revealed that, over the last decade, Salford tops the table when it comes to the highest rate of rental growth, with the average rent in the area having increased by 72.4%.

Rents have gone up by a staggering amount

Tlyfe analysed the latest rental market figures from Gov UK, released this month, looking at which areas of the rental market have seen the sharpest increase in the cost of renting over the last decade.

The research shows that, across England, the average cost of renting has increased by 44.4% over the last 10 years, now averaging £1,369 per month. Wales has seen a similar rate of growth at 43.9%, although the monthly cost does remain significantly cheaper at £777 per month.

Regionally across England, it’s not London (40.9%) but the East Midlands that has seen the highest increase in the cost of renting, up 51.8% in the last 10 years. The East of England has also seen one of the highest increases (50.4%), whilst the lowest rate of growth has been across the North East (33%).

However, further analysis by Tlyfe shows that when it comes to local rental market growth, it’s Salford that tops the table, with the average cost of renting in the area increasing by a huge 72.4% in the last decade.

Leicester ranks second with an increase of 70.7%, with Folkestone and Hythe (69.1%), South Gloucestershire (69%) and Thanet (67.4%) also making the top five, whilst Bristol (66.1%), Manchester (64.9%), Ipswich (64.5%), Tameside (64.5%) and Stevenage (64.1%) rank within the top 10.

The London Borough of Brent has seen the largest increase of all London boroughs at 58.4%, although it sits at number 25 in the table overall.

In fact, rents have climbed across every single area of the market in England and Wales, with Hartlepool seeing the smallest increase, up by just 14.3% in the last 10 years.

See how rents have changed in your local area here.

A ‘severe crisis’ that isn’t changing anytime soon

The news comes after the Canary previously reported that people under the age of 45 pay 66% of all rent in the UK. This amounted to a record £56.2bn for 2024, according to research from housing agents Hamptons. The total amount of rent paid by under 45s has increased by a startling 59% over the past decade, reflecting eye-watering price increases as much as additional renters.

CEO of OpenBrix Adam Pigott commented:

The cost of renting has only gone one way over the last decade – and that’s up.

Such is the consistent and overwhelming demand for rental properties that we find ourselves facing a severe crisis across the sector and one of the key factors causing this crisis is a lack of available homes to meet demand.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as though this market imbalance is set to be addressed anytime soon and, if anything, we’ve seen more landlords exit the sector due to consistent legislative changes implemented by the government.

It’s the nation’s renters who are left to face the consequences and, for many, the cost of residing within the private rental sector is simply too high, whilst those who are able to stomach it are severely hindered from saving and making the jump to homeownership.

Featured image via the Canary