Landlords respond to rent increase research
The NRLA has responded to research published by Shelter today on rent increases in the private rented sector.
According to the data, one in seven private tenants in England had rent increased in the previous month.
In response to the research, Chris Norris, Policy Director for the National Residential Landlords Association, called for an end to the freeze on housing benefits, saying:
“At a time when inflation is so high and landlord costs are rapidly increasing, the latest official data shows that average private rents across the UK have gone up by 3.4 per cent over the last twelve months. This shows that most landlords are prepared to bear the brunt of rising costs to keep tenants in their homes when they can.
“There will be cases where landlords are simply unable to shoulder all the increased costs and need to increase rents accordingly. Where this causes difficulties, particularly for tenants on low incomes, the Government should end the freeze on housing benefits. Even before the sharp rise in inflation, the level of benefits was failing to reflect the cost of rents as they are today.
“Further increases in rents will also be driven by a chronic shortage of homes for private rent. This is a direct consequence of government action to discourage investment in the sector. Ministers need urgently to develop pro-growth policies to ensure supply meets demand in the rental market.”
Further to issuing our commentary, the statement issued by the NRLA received coverage in Bloomberg, Wales Online, and the statement was also mentioned on Times Radio and LBC, as well as in trade press.
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Discover more about the NRLA’s calls around welfare here.
