London boroughs were among the worst performing areas for rental growth last year, with Kensington and Chelsea taking the wooden spoon.
According to research from buy-to-let mortgage lender Landbay, six of the bottom ten ‘rental fallers’ over the past year were all in London, including Kensington and Chelsea , Kingston upon Thames, Hammersmith and Fulham, Tower Hamlets, Barnet and Harrow.
In total half of London’s boroughs (17 out of 33) have seen rents fall year on year. Only Bexley, Havering and the City of London saw rents rise by more than 1 per cent.
Bottom 10 areas for rental growth in England
| Rank | Region | Geography | YoY change (per cent) | Average rent (£) |
| 1 | London | Kensington and Chelsea | -1.40 | 3,024 |
| 2 | North East | Hartlepool | -1.19 | 404 |
| 3 | East England | Luton | -1.15 | 768 |
| 4 | South East | Windsor and Maidenhead | -1.07 | 1,252 |
| 5 | London | Kingston upon Thames | -0.98 | 1,272 |
| 6 | London | Hammersmith and Fulham | -0.81 | 1,884 |
| 7 | London | Tower Hamlets | -0.79 | 1,725 |
| 8 | South East | Wokingham | -0.78 | 1,031 |
| 9 | London | Barnet | -0.69 | 1,481 |
| 10 | London | Harrow | -0.68 | 1,317 |
The study showed that the average rent for a property in England grew by 0.64 per cent in the year to April, with London’s falling rents weighing down otherwise resilient growth.
Hotspots for rental growth over the last year include Leicester (3.02 per cent), Nottingham (2.96 per cent) and Northamptonshire (2.44 per cent), with eight of the top ten ‘rental risers’ situated in either the east midlands or east of England.
Top 10 areas for rental growth in England
| Rank | Region | Geography | YoY change (per cent) | Average rent (£) |
| 1 | East Midlands | Leicester | 3.02 | 647 |
| 2 | East Midlands | Nottingham | 2.96 | 663 |
| 3 | East Midlands | Northamptonshire | 2.44 | 732 |
| 4 | South West | Bath and North East Somerset | 2.35 | 976 |
| 5 | East England | Peterborough | 2.24 | 639 |
| 6 | East England | Cambridgeshire | 2.21 | 948 |
| 7 | East England | Suffolk | 2.15 | 734 |
| 8 | East England | Norfolk | 2.06 | 709 |
| 9 | East England | Southend on Sea | 2.06 | 762 |
| 10 | South West | Bournemouth | 2.04 | 821 |
John Goodall, CEO and co-founder of Landbay said: “Falling rents in some parts of the country, especially expensive prime London locations, distort the picture for the rest of England where rents are continuing to grow at a steady pace.
“Partnered with the fact that rental demand shows no signs of giving up, prices will continue to rise over the coming years unless the government takes action. Without a radical house building plan for both first-time buyers and purpose-built rental properties, there is no way supply will ever be able to catch up with demand.”
The average rent paid for a property in England now stands at £1,232, or £768 if you exclude London, according to Landbay. The lowest average rent is found in the north east (£552), where rents have shown very modest long-term growth over the past five years.
Source: City A.M.