First fall in five years in rent charged for new private lets

Average private rents in Great Britain have fallen for the first time in five years as lower mortgage rates helped take some of the heat out of the rental sector, data shows.

- Rupert Jones

Years of above-inflation increases in rents have put the squeeze on many households but the estate agent Hamptons said the average rent on a newly let property fell by 0.2% year on year in July.

It was the first annual decline since August 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic - although this national figure masks wide regional variations.

Rents have risen in recent years owing to a combination of factors. These include demand for rental properties outstripping supply, the pandemic and its fallout affecting how people live and work, and buy-to-let landlords passing on increases in their costs caused by higher interest rates.