Hertsmere tops East of England private rent league

Housing

£1,200 per month for two-bedroom flat in Hertsmere tops East of England private rent league while £525 per month in Waveney and Great Varmouth is east's lowest rents

If employers don't respond with higher pay they will face staff shortages as workers, especially younger people, are priced out of housing market, says GMB London

A study by GMB has found that median rent for a two-bedroom flat in Hertsmere is now £1,200 per month, making it the most expensive area in the 47 areas in the East of England for rents for private sector two-bedroom flats. Rents in the area have risen 37.4% since 2011 but rents have not increased in the past 12 months. 

This compares with the median monthly rent for a two-bedroom flat across the East of England of £775, up by 31.4% since 2011 and 3.3% in the last 12 months. 

There are seven other areas in the East of England where the median monthly rent for a private two-bedroom flat is £1000 or higher. These are St Albans £1,195, Three Rivers £1,195, Cambridge £1,180, Watford £1,175, Epping Forest £ 1,125, Brentwood £1,050 and Dacorum £1,000.

The lowest median monthly rent for a private two-bedroom flat at £525 are in Waveney and Great Yarmouth. In contrast to the rest of the region, the increases since 2011 were 10.5%.

The figures for all 47 areas in the East of England are set out in the table below. Set out in notes to editors below are the sources and definitions for the figures. 

Warren Kenny, GMB Regional Secretary said:

“These official figures show increases in average rents for two-bedroom flats of 30% or higher in 11 of the 47 East of England councils in the six years since 2011. The average increase for all the councils is 31.4%.

"These figures show how rising house rental prices in London have spread into the commuter belt around London to places like Hertsmere.

“These high rents are here to stay. So too are younger workers living for longer in private sector rental accommodation. 

“As a direct consequence, employers must be prepared to pay much higher wages to staff to enable them to afford these much higher rents. 

“If employers don't respond with higher pay they will face staff shortages as workers, especially younger people, are priced out of housing market. 

“It makes little sense for these workers to spend a full week at work only to pay most of their earnings in rents. They will vote with their feet. 

“Policy mistakes have made the housing position for lower paid workers worse. Council homes for rents at reasonable levels were aimed at housing the families of workers in the lower pay grades and did it successfully for generations.

“These were sold off -  but crucially not replaced as a matter of Tory dogma. Housing benefits was introduced instead to help pay rents for those on lower paid and the costs to the taxpayer has ballooned to over £24 billion a year. It would have been far cheaper to build the council homes. 

“The chickens are now coming home to roost on these policy mistakes. There is a massive shortage of homes for rent at reasonable rents for workers in the lower pay grades. There is now no alternative to higher pay to pay these higher rents plus a step change upwards in building homes for rent at reasonable rents. 

“Higher pay especially for younger workers is now one essential part of the solution."

ENDS

Contact: Vaughan West 07967 342 197 or Tony Warr 07710 631 336 or Keith Williams 07710 631 339 or GMB London Press Office 07970 114 762

Notes to Editors

1 Source: Private Rental Market Summary Statistics; Valuation Office Agency © Crown copyright 2018.

The data is collected by the Valuation Office captured during the course of Rent Officers’ statutory responsibilities to administer functions related to Housing Benefit (LHA and LRR schemes) and Universal Credit on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Landlords and letting agents provide VOA Rent Officers with data about the properties they let. This information is captured electronically in the VOA’s lettings information database. Checks are carried out at the point of entry to ensure that any Housing Benefit funded tenancies are excluded from this database.

Two-bedroom self-contained properties with two-bedrooms including houses, bungalows, flats and maisonettes.

2011 data is for the 12 months to the end of June 2011

2018 data is for the 12 months to the end of March 2018