CAMPAIGNERS intensified demands for limits on rent hikes after damning new research found that rents are soaring at triple the rate of inflation.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown that the average rent in Britain has increased by 7.7 per cent to £1,332 in the last 12 months to March.

The increase is three times more than the current level of Consumer Price Index inflation, which measures how much the overall price of everyday goods and services has increased. 

The figures show a steep 8.9 per cent increase in Wales, where the average rent is £792. In Scotland, rents were up by 5.7 per cent to £1,001. 

According to a December 2024 report from Zoopla, rents for new lets are now £270 per month higher than they were three years ago. 

The figures mean that a staggering £3,240 has been added to the annual cost of renting since 2021, equating to a 27 per cent increase.

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey said: “When we are forced to spend too much of our income on rent, the effects ripple across the rest of our lives.

“It means children are going to school hungry and older renters can’t afford to turn the heating on.

“High rents are trapping people in poverty and forcing them into homelessness.

“Price caps rightly exist for our energy and water bills, but there is nothing to stop a landlord suddenly hiking the cost of someone’s home. 

“Thankfully, the government can and must act on this by introducing a limit on how much landlords can raise the rent, helping to slam the brakes on soaring rents.”

The government has been contacted for comment.