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UK cities where rents are increasing faster than 5% annually

Rents are rising nearly twice as fast as a year ago, according to an index.

Across the UK, the average monthly rent in the final quarter of 2019 was £886 – up by 2.6% annually.

This was nearly double the 1.4% annual growth in private rents seen a year earlier, according to the findings from Zoopla.

Some cities are seeing rents increase by 5% or more annually.

They are York (5.0%), Bristol (5.5%) and Nottingham (5.8%).

In Bristol and York, the relatively high cost of buying a home is likely to be supporting rental demand and, in turn, rental growth, Zoopla said.

In Nottingham, demand for renting has grown faster than the national average over 2019, it added.

At the other end of the spectrum, rents in Aberdeen are down by 2.9% annually.

Tax changes in recent years, which have eaten into landlords’ profits, mean the supply of rental homes has dwindled. At the same time, demand from tenants has increased, pushing rental prices upwards, according to the index.

It said the 2.6% annual increase in rents across the UK is the highest rate seen in three years.

Rents in London fell over 2017 and 2018, but they are now increasing by 2.8% – the highest rate for nearly four years.

The typical available supply of homes for rent, per estate agency branch, in London has declined by a fifth (20%) over the past two years, Zoopla said.

York rental prices
The high cost of buying a home in York has helped to push up demand in the rental sector, Zoopla suggested (Danny Lawson/PA)

Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla, said: “New investment by landlords has fallen since the introduction of tax changes in 2016 and this has been felt most keenly in southern England where property values are highest and yields lowest.

“This is creating scarcity and explains why rents are rising.”

He continued: “We expect rents to increase by 3.5% over 2020 as a lack of supply supports faster growth.”

Here are average monthly rents in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the annual increase, according to Zoopla:

– England, £910, 2.5%
– Scotland, £628, 3.6%
– Wales, £599, 2.7%
– Northern Ireland, £581, 1.9%

Here are average monthly rents in the fourth quarter of 2019 and annual increases or decreases in rental prices in major towns and cities across the UK, according to Zoopla:

– Nottingham, £679, 5.8%
– Bristol, £983, 5.5%
– York, £844, 5.0%
– Leeds, £715, 4.4%
– Preston, £571, 4.0%
– Stoke, £520, 3.9%
– Leicester, £727, 3.7%
– Edinburgh, £950, 3.5%
– Norwich, £765, 3.3%
– Liverpool, £586, 3.2%
– Bournemouth, £954, 2.9%
– Cardiff, £785, 2.9%
– Manchester, £732, 2.9%
– Plymouth, £670, 2.8%
– Derby, £579, 2.8%
– London, £1,577, 2.8%
– Hull, £471, 2.7%
– Brighton, £1,292, 2.7%
– Milton Keynes, £926, 2.4%
– Glasgow, £636, 2.4%
– Portsmouth, £858, 2.4%
– Gloucester, £702, 2.4%
– Cambridge, £1,200, 2.3%
– Belfast, £599, 2.2%
– Oxford, £1,369, 2.1%
– Reading, £1,067, 2.0%
– Swansea, £600, 2.0%
– Ipswich, £677, 1.8%
– Southampton, £843, 1.7%
– Birmingham, £668, 1.6%
– Northampton, £751, 1.5%
– Huddersfield, £519, 1.4%
– Sheffield, £583, 1.3%
– Swindon, £735, 1.3%
– Bradford, £489, 1.2%
– Southend, £887, 0.9%
– Newcastle, £584, 0.2%
– Coventry, £807, minus 0.1%
– Middlesbrough, £463, minus 1.1%
– Aberdeen, £597, minus 2.9%