The average private renting household in Barnet spent 36.1% of their gross income on rent in 2022-23 – down from 38.3% in 2021-22 reports Clara Margotin, Data Reporter

Two piles of pound coins with two Monopoly houses each on top and a £20 note in the background — Nationally, the proportion of gross income private-renting households spent on rent fell from 36.5% to 34.2% – (Credit – Radar)

Rental properties in Barnet are more affordable despite the ongoing housing crisis, new figures show.

A housing and homelessness charity said private renting in England “has reached boiling point”, and urged the Government to address soaring rent prices.

But Office for National Statistics figures show private renting households across the country actually spent a smaller proportion of their gross income on rent in 2022-23 than in any year since records began in 2014-15.

The figures show the average private renting household in Barnet spent 36.1% of their gross income on rent in 2022-23 – down from 38.3% in 2021-22.

Nationally, the proportion of gross income private-renting households spent on rent fell from 36.5% to 34.2%.

This is because, although private rents have risen significantly since 2015, wages have outstripped rent increases.

The median is used to exclude extreme values which could skew the average, and an area is deemed “affordable” when households spend 30% or less of their income on rent.

It means private rental properties nationwide are deemed unaffordable at current rates, including in Barnet.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Private renting has reached boiling point. Decades of failure to build genuinely affordable social homes has left many private renters paying over the odds for often shoddy homes for far too long.

“We hear from renters every day who are forced to cough up ridiculous sums, or face being kicked out of their homes.

“A third of private renters are paying half or more of their income on rent. For many of these renters, any rise in rent is as good as an eviction.”

She added the government must protect renters from unexpected jumps in rent and rein in in-tenancy rent increases.

Ella Nuttall, senior policy and research officer at youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, said rent arrears and high housing costs are “a key driver of homelessness” and warned the soaring cost-of-living means income growth does not make housing affordable.

“Building genuinely affordable housing, including a great deal more social homes, along with reforming the rental sector will be key to ending the housing crisis – and so far, the Government has made the right noises,” she added.

In London, average rents have eaten into between 57% and 40% of incomes since 2015, while in other regions they have rarely exceeded 35%.

Sutton, Bexley and Bromley are the most affordable London boroughs, and Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, and Hackney the least affordable.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We are in the worst housing crisis in living memory, with rent levels unaffordable for far too many tenants.

“Our Renters’ Rights Bill will fundamentally reform the private rented sector to address this, empowering tenants to tackle unreasonable rent hikes and banning unfair bidding wars.

“This government will also build 1.5 million homes to help us turn the tide, while our mandatory housing targets will ensure that more homes are delivered in the least affordable areas.”

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