Labour ‘failing’ renters: Brits work for 133 days to pay landlords
Today’s the day when Brits will finally stop working just to pay their landlords and start earning money for their own pockets, with 14 May the point in the year when the average tenant has brought in enough income to pay for a year’s accommodation.
Known as the “cost of rent day”, it now arrives 133 days into the calendar. The measure was devised by the Adam Smith Institute. The think tank divides annual rents by gross annual pay to calculate it. In 2024, it took only 125 days to get there.
For London tenants, there will be a longer wait – until 2 June – when the increased cost of living in the capital gets them over the same line.
Gareth Bacon, shadow minister for housing, said: “The cost of rent day continues to get later each year, which is clear evidence that the government is failing renters.”
The Adam Smith Institute claims that the renters’ rights act, which came into force this month, fails to boost tenants because it adds “further regulatory burdens and costs on landlords”.
Unaffordable
The act brought an end to so-called no-fault evictions and banned fixed-term contracts, which landlords say will make it more difficult for them to evict problem tenants.
Labour should focus on housebuilding and make good on its pledge to build 1.5m new homes by the next general election, the think tank said.
James Lawson, chairman of the Adam Smith Institute, said: “Renting in England has become unaffordable for millions, particularly in London and the South East where housing costs are swallowing ever larger shares of people’s incomes.
“Instead of fixing the supply problem, ministers continue reaching for policies like the Renters’ Rights Bill that are already driving landlords out of the market and pushing rents even higher.”
This comes as a leading industry body warns that nearly half of landlords are planning to raise rents in response to a two per cent hike to income tax on property income which is due next year.
Government risks pushing rents up
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has found that 46 per cent of landlords plan to hike rents ahead of the tax changes due in April 2027.
Nearly a third (35 per cent) said the tax hike means they will hike rents by more than they previously would have, while 33 per cent said they will sell at least one property as a result.
Ben Beadle, the NRLA’s chief executive, said: “If the Government is serious about easing cost of living pressures, it needs to look in the mirror.
“Renters will be left picking up the bill for the Chancellor’s tax hikes. The Government needs to scrap plans that risk pushing rents higher and making it harder for people to find a home.”