New figures show rent in Oxford costs nearly two-thirds of average wage

The average rent in Oxford costs nearly two-thirds of the area's median wage, new figures show.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the average rent in Oxford was £1,659 a month in May.

Separate data from the ONS show the median wage for the same month was £2,648 in the area, meaning rent accounted for 63 per cent of the monthly income for an average individual.

READ MORE: Wallingford: Purse stolen in Benson house burglary

The figures are based on individual wages - cohabiting couples or those living in house shares will see rent shared between multiple wages.

The figures also show that the average rent in south and west Oxfordshire costs nearly half of the area's median wage.

Campaign group Generation Rent said the next government must tackle the cost of rent by building more homes and stopping landlords from raising rent above wage growth or inflation.

Regionally, London saw rent take up the highest proportion of wages, with the average rent of £2,086 accounted for 74 per cent of the median monthly income.

At the other extreme was the north East, where the average rent of £667 took up 30 per cent of its median pay.

In the south East, the average rent was £1,292, accounting for 51 per cent of the £2,519 median wage.

READ MORE: Thames Water dispute E.coli claims ahead of Henley Regatta

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: "Prices in the shops may have stopped rising so quickly, but renters are still seeing our single biggest cost go up faster than our incomes.

Housing in Oxford (Image: Oxford City Council)

"Landlords can raise the rent as high as they think they can get away with and use the threat of a no-fault eviction to bully their tenants to accept it."

He added: "We won't fix the cost of renting crisis unless the next government acts to slam the brakes on these runaway rents."

He said more homes are needed alongside protections against unaffordable rent increases.

"That means stopping landlords raising rent above wage growth or inflation - whichever is lower," he said.

Rent in Oxford has increased 5 per cent from £1,587 a year ago, and has jumped 3 per cent from £1,266 when records started in 2015.

Across England, rent has increased 9 per cent from last year and 35 per cent since 2015.

READ MORE: Banbury Fat Rabbit shop has 'queues around the corner'

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said: "Successive governments have failed to build the social rent homes we desperately need and private rents are continuing to rocket as a result.

"Every day we hear from people who are forced to cough up money they simply don’t have just to keep hold of an overpriced and often shoddy rental."

She added renters are left to accept "eyewatering rent hikes" due to competitive rental markets and a lack of protection from evictions and said the next government must urgently ban Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, limit in-tenancy rent increases and extends notice periods.