Brighton and Hove and West and East Sussex renters see price hike

Office for National Statistics figures show the median rent per property paid by tenants across 7,260 homes in West Sussex in the year to March was £1,050.

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 13.5 per cent from £925 the year before.

In the year to March 2020, before the pandemic, tenants paid an average of £954.

The median – the middle number in a series – is used to ensure the figures are not skewed by extreme highs or lows.

In East Sussex, the median rent per property paid by tenants across 4,440 homes in the year to March was £900.

It was up by 5.9 per cent from £850 the year before.

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In the year to March 2020, before the pandemic, tenants paid an average of £855.

In Brighton and Hove the median rent per property paid by tenants across 2,960 homes in Brighton and Hove in the year to March was £1,250.

It was up by 13.6 per cent from £1,100 the year before.

In the year to March 2020, before the pandemic, tenants paid an average of £1,360.

Housing charity 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 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.

A government spokesman said the Renters Reform Bill will "deliver a fairer deal for renters in England".

He 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 spokesman 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".