Rental costs higher in Leeds than across Yorkshire

Housing charity Shelter said private rents have risen to “grossly unaffordable” levels across the country, with the coronavirus pandemic only fuelling the issue.

In Leeds, the median rental cost of a two-bedroom home was £725 a month in 2019-20, according to the latest data from the Valuation Office Agency. That was a 22% increase compared to 2010-11 – the earliest year with comparable data – and above the Yorkshire and Humber average of £550.

But separate figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal rising wages are outpacing the increase in rental costs – the median salary of a full-time worker in Leeds rose by 23% between 2011 and 2020. It contrasted with the picture across England, where the average cost of two-bed rose by 27%, compared to a 20% rise in wages.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said hundreds of thousands of renters are now “struggling to make ends meet” amid the economic fallout of the pandemic.

She said: “Many have had to turn to benefits for the first time, only to find the support available doesn’t come close to covering most rents.”

ONS figures show that in Leeds, the average full-time worker earned a median salary of £2,523 a month before tax in 2020. It means if they lived alone, they would have to fork out 26% of their wages on renting a one-bed home in the area.

Earlier this month, the Government extended its ban on enforced evictions to protect vulnerable renters struggling amid the pandemic. It means bailiffs cannot carry out repossessions until early March.