Renters ‘paid nearly £81bn last year’

Renters are paying an ever-increasing share of their income on housing costs, new figures have revealed.

According to property firm Savills, total costs for renters reached £81bn in 2024.

This works out to the average household in rented accommodation paying £14,458 on housing.

That’s an increase of more than £2,000 over the past two years.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Across the country, rents have hit an affordability ceiling.

“But tenants are still left spending a larger proportion of their income on rent than at any point in the last 20 years.”

Government aiming to make renting more secure

The government has put forward a proposed law to offer more protections to renters.

Among the key measures are:

• introducing a limit on how much rent landlords can ask for in advance
• ending "no fault" evictions, so landlords can’t remove tenants without a valid reason

The government also wants to extend the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector for the first time, so tenants can challenge their landlord if there is dangerous damp or mould in their homes.

Are you struggling to pay your rent?

If you’re finding it hard to keep up with your rent, then options are available.

Use our free benefits calculator to find out if you’re getting all the state support you might be eligible for.

We’ve also put together some useful money saving tips for people living in rented accommodation.

And don’t forget to use our budget calculator, so you can identify where possible savings can be made and free up cash to put towards vital expenses.