The average private rent in Barnet reached £1,773 per month in the year to September reports Sonja Tutty, Data Reporter

A row of new looking terraced houses — In September, the average private rent in Great Britain was £1,295 per month – (Credit – Radar)

Rent in Barnet rose 5% in the past year, new figures show.

It comes as campaign group Generation Rent said renters across Britain are being exploited by an “out of control market” and a lack of protections.

Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics show the average private rent in Barnet reached £1,773 per month in the year to September – up 5% from £1,681 a year prior.

It was also up 21% from an estimated £1,469 a month five years ago.

Valuation Office Agency rent officers collect prices from a variety of sources, including landlords and letting agents, with the aim to collect data on approximately 10% of the market.

Across London, the average rent was £2,145 – rising 10% from the year before.

Kensington and Chelsea had the highest rental cost in the region at £3,435 per month, while the lowest was in Bexley at £1,355.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said “budget threats” were driving up rents.

She added: “Given the continued exodus of landlords, renters face the double misery of fighting over the scraps and then paying a fortune for them.”

In September, the average private rent in Great Britain was £1,295 per month. This was £101, or 8%, higher than 12 months ago.

Meanwhile, separate ONS figures show Consumer Price Index inflation has slowed to 1.7% in September, down from 2.2% in August.

Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Our biggest monthly expense is going up far faster than inflation or our wages.”

He added: “Renters are being exploited by an out of control market, and the lack of protections that allow unscrupulous landlords to maximise the rent at every opportunity.

“As a result, renters are unable to save for the future, and many are still making painful decisions about whether to turn the heating on or skip a meal.”

He urged the government to included protections from unaffordable rent rises in the Renters Rights Bill.

“The government must cap rent increases at the lowest of inflation or wage growth, to stop this huge discrepancy between rent costs and renters’ incomes from widening,” he said.

The figures also show the different costs for various homes in Barnet, from £1,353 for a one-bed property to £2,949 for a home with four or more bedrooms in September.

Among the property types in the area:

A detached housed cost £2,790 to rent per month
A semi-detached cost £2,352 per month
A terraced house was £2,024 per month
And a flat or maisonette was £1,580 a month

The Government’s Renters’ Rights Bill returned to parliament for the second reading earlier this month.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “I am determined to get this Bill in to law as soon as possible. The thousands of children and families living in unsafe housing or under the cruel threat of a Section 21 eviction notice have been waiting far too long already.

“We will deliver on our promise to renters and transform the sector into one where families can put down roots, where children can grow up in healthy homes, and where young people can save for their future.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.