(Bloomberg) -- The cost of renting a home in England hit a fresh record in the year through March, heaping more pain on Brits suffering under a historic squeeze on living standards and threatening to make it even harder for first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder.
The median monthly rent climbed to £795 ($972), up nearly 9% from a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. In London, the reading was almost double that at £1,450.
The figures come as Brits also face higher energy, food, tax and fuel bills, squeezing disposable incomes and threatening economic growth. Data earlier Wednesday showed headline inflation reached 9.1% last month, the highest since 1982.
The surge in rental prices also stands alongside a property market boom in the UK since the pandemic, which has driven the cost of buying to a record high.
Both will make the job of saving for a deposit even harder for those hoping to purchase their own home in a country where the average home now costs 7 times the average wage.
The median price of renting a three-bedroom property in Kensington & Chelsea, the priciest district in the UK, is more than £4,000 a month while a two-bed home in the City of London is almost £2,300.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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