Average rent in Luton rose during coronavirus pandemic

Tenants in Luton are paying more to keep a roof over their heads than before the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

Housing charity Shelter said thousands of people are "battling to stay in their homes and face the threat of homelessness" as they attempt to keep up with rents rocketing to record levels.

Office for National Statistics figures show the median rent per property paid by tenants across 2,730 homes in Luton in the year to March was £850.

This is a measure across all types of properties, from shared rooms to one-bed apartments to four-bed homes, so prices vary widely. It was up by 3% from £825 the year before.

In the year to March 2020, before the pandemic, tenants paid an average of £788. The median – the middle number in a series – is used to ensure the figures are not skewed by extreme highs or lows.

Shelter said private renters are "facing a crisis like never before" and blamed the Government for failing to build enough affordable social housing.

Polly Neate, chief executive of the charity, said: "Given private renters already pay the highest housing costs of anyone, and have for a long time, they’re feeling the pain of the current cost of living crisis more than most."

Ms Neate said while the Government's immediate focus should be on ending the four-year freeze on housing benefit and "preventing a tsunami of homelessness", building social homes is the only answer to ending the housing emergency for good.

"We desperately need more genuinely affordable social homes with stable rents that are tied to local incomes and not an unstable private market," she added.

A UK Government spokesperson said the Renters Reform Bill will "deliver a fairer deal for renters in England".

They said the bill "will empower tenants to challenge unjustified rent increases and protect them as we keep our commitment to ban ‘no fault’ evictions".

The spokesperson added housebuilding is a priority for the Government, committing to building 300,000 homes every year to "create a more sustainable and affordable housing market".