22/11/2010 - Rental costs reach record high
The average rent across England and Wales rose 0.4% to a record high of £691 in October, figures from LSL Property Services show.
LSL, which owns the UK's largest lettings agency network, said rents were up for the ninth month in a row and stood 4.5% above the average for October 2009.
Yorkshire and the Humber was the only region to see a decline. The average cost of renting a property there fell by 1.4%. The South East saw the biggest rise in rental prices at 1.2%, followed by the North East at 1%.
Landlords are continuing to get high returns on their investment in property as a result of the rental boom. The total annual return from investment in buy-to-let property, combining income from rent and house price increases, is estimated to be 8.1%, or an average of £13,799.
The figure is down from the recent peak of 13.4% in May this year, as a result of the slowdown in annual house price inflation.
The level of rent arrears across the UK also fell for the second consecutive month, with an estimated £221 million of rent going unpaid during October, down from £229.3 million in September.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
Related links
|
