Rental home floor space shrinks 16% over 20 years as costs continue to soar

And costs of new tenancies rise by more than 10 per cent in a year as inflation bites

The average private renter has only 36 sq m of space, down from 43 sq m (Getty Images)

Private renters’ average floor space per person in England has fallen by 16 per cent over 20 years, while rents as a share of income have remained stubbornly high, according to new research.

England’s 4.4 million private renting households have been hit hard by rising inflation, with rents for new tenancies rising by more than 10 per cent in a year, the Resolution Foundation said.

Annual rents overall increased by 3.4 per cent last month – more than double the average rate of 1.3 per cent experienced between 2018 and last year.

The price rises are particularly challenging for low-income households, who typically have rents equivalent to half of their income, compared to a third for the private renter population as a whole, according to the think tank.

Higher rental costs “might be less resented if they reflected higher quality housing”, says the foundation.

But while there has been some progress in this area, in terms of space “things have actually got worse”.

The proportion of overcrowded households in the private rental sector has more than doubled since 1996-97 – from 3.1 per cent to 6.7 per cent by 2019-20.

The rise in overcrowding has been driven by a 16 per cent fall in average floor space over 20 years, from 43 sq m per person in 1997-2001 to 36 sq m in 2017-19.

Collectively this reduction in floor space amounts to 75 sq km.

The government has recently proposed reforms to the private rented sector.

Felicia Odamtten, economist at the think tank, said: “Rents have risen and floor space has fallen, with renters losing space equivalent to the size of Nottingham over the past 20 years.

“With rental prices growing at twice the pace they were two years ago – and hitting double digits for new tenancies – renters are facing considerable financial pressure, even despite the government’s welcome support with energy bills.

“This is in part because much of our private housing stock is so poorly insulated.”

The foundation called for a massive increase the number of new homes being built.