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London rents rose at the fastest pace on record in November, according to official data that highlighted the worsening pain for tenants after two years of rising costs.

Rented at London rose 11.6 percent in the 12 months to November 2024, the fastest annual pace since records began in 2006, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

The average monthly rent in London has exceeded £2,200 for the first time, pushing the average for the UK above £1,300.

Driven by London, annual rental growth in the UK also accelerated to 9.1 percent in November, up from 8.7 percent the previous month and just shy of the 9.2 percent record increase registered in March 2024.

Andrew Montlake, managing director of mortgage broker Coreco, said: “Renting is brutal. You have to feel for the tenants in the UK because rents are rising at an astronomical and unsustainable rate.

The extremely fast pace of rental growth in London means “something has to give”, he added.

Rents have risen sharply in the past two years as landlords pass on rising costs, amid a shortage of rental properties and strong demand from tenants who can’t afford higher mortgage payments.

However, a survey of estate agents published last week showed that expectations for rent growth in the next three months eased in November because the demand has decreased.

ONS rent data collects both existing and new rents, which means it can take time to reflect turning points.

The ONS also reported on Wednesday that UK house prices rose by 3.4 per cent to an average of £292,000 in the 12 months to October, up from 2.8 per cent in the previous month, and continued the expansion seen since the spring.

House prices contracted in 2023 and at the start of 2024, reflecting the impact of the Bank of England’s interest rate hike on mortgage costs.

Mortgage rates are down from their peak in the summer of 2023, but have risen again in recent months as the government’s October Budget creates upward pressure on a faster inflation rate. rate.

Early on Wednesday, the ONS reported inflation rose to 2.6 percent in November from 2.3 percent the previous month, marking the highest rate since March. Along with strong wage growth, it consolidated market expectations that the BoE will not cut interest rates when it announces its decision on Thursday.

Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The fall in interest rates that fueled house price inflation is likely to stop now that markets expect the MPC to ease policy only gradually after the inflationary Budget and especially after the rapid increase in wages yesterday.

“That won’t destroy home prices, but it might take some of the steam out of the recovery.”