Rent rises are rocketing

Landlords have increased rents for the seventh month in a row, imposing the steepest increases for more than a year, research indicated this week.

The average cost of renting a home in Britain rose by

1.4 percent during the single month of August, to £686, according to LSL Property Services.

The rise is fuelled by a lack of council houses and other affordable homes.

It will get worse if the Tories push through their proposals to restrict tenants’ right to council housing.

Landlords in the south east of England made the steepest increases, raising rents by 2.8 percent during August.

LSL also reported a sharp rise in the number of tenants who had fallen behind with their rent.