PRIVATE-SECTOR rents are back on the increase in real terms for the first time in over a year, letters’ network LSL Property Services reported yesterday. 

The average monthly rent across England and Wales increased by 2 per cent in the year to July, edging higher than the 1.9 per cent rate of Consumer Price Index inflation.

The average monthly rent now stands at £753.

“Our lack of affordable homes and sky-high house prices are leaving more and more families with no choice but to live in unstable and expensive private renting,” said housing charity Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb. 

The fastest annual increase was recorded in south-east England, where rents typically stand at £775, showing a 3.8 per cent rise on a year ago. 

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis claimed: “These figures from LSL are misleading, as they are only based on new, rather than existing, rental contracts.”