Tenants on average earnings struggle as rents take up to 54% of gross pay

Towns and cities such as Rickmansworth, Oxford and Brighton have overtaken parts of London as the most unaffordable places in the country to rent privately.

According to the National Housing Federation, Three Rivers in Hertfordshire – the local authority area which covers the towns of Rickmansworth and Chorleywood – is now the most unaffordable place outside London, with private rent swallowing up more than half of people’s gross wages.

Oxford, Brighton and parts of south Buckinghamshire are also more unaffordable than London boroughs such as Greenwich and Lewisham.

Although all the top 20 most unaffordable places to rent outside London are in the south, rental affordability is also an issue elsewhere. In Leeds, for example, rent swallows up 40% of wages.

 

Top 20 most unaffordable places to rent outside London

 Local Authority Area Proportion of income spent on rent to private landlord Average (mean) monthly private sector rents Average (mean) annual earnings
Three Rivers 54.3% £1,372 £30,306
South Bucks 54.1% £1,530 £33,935
Oxford 50.3% £1,113 £26,536
Forest Heath 50.2% £825 £19,734
Brighton and Hove UA 49.5% £1,102 £26,718
Runnymede 48.8% £1,252 £30,800
Cotswold 47.9% £922 £23,098
Welwyn Hatfield 47.5% £1,103 £27,888
Hertsmere 46.3% £1,128 £29,224
Bath and North East Somerset UA 45.7% £964 £25,324
Exeter 45.3% £840 £22,266
Sevenoaks 44.6% £1,345 £36,171
Purbeck 44.6% £758 £20,394
Epsom and Ewell 44.6% £1,224 £32,942
Bracknell Forest UA 44.4% £1,102 £29,775
Guildford 44.0% £1,257 £34,320
Tandridge 43.9% £1,181 £32,292
Elmbridge 43.6% £1,579 £43,508
Windsor and Maidenhead UA 43.5% £1,342 £36,982
East Dorset 43.1% £858 £23,899

 

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One Comment

  1. Elbee

    Can we now have a survey showing the proportion of "income" spent on rent to Social Landlords?

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