Newcastle ranks as the worst city for hopeful rentals when it comes to stock affordability

The latest research by Zero Deposit, the tenancy deposit alternative, has revealed which major cities currently boast the greatest level of affordable rental stock for tenants, based on the availability of rental properties at or below the current average rent.

Zero Deposit looked at the current average cost of renting in 15 major British cities, before analysing current rental market stock at or below this affordability benchmark to see which city was home to the greatest degree of affordable rental supply.

The research shows that across England, 31% of all current available rental stock is listed for £1,000 per month or less, close to the current average rent of £960 per month. This climbs to 55% in Scotland and 52% in Wales using their average monthly rental amounts of £1,042 in Scotland and £1,032 in Wales.

However, when breaking the market down at city level, it’s Sheffield where tenants have the best chance of securing a property around or below the average cost of renting in the city.

The current average cost of renting in Sheffield sits at £717 per month and the research by Zero Deposit shows that there are currently some 1,739 rental properties listed with an asking rent of up to £800. This equates to a huge 68% of total rental stock currently listed across the city.

Liverpool ranks second, home to an average rental cost of £664 per month, the city also boasts no less than 62% of current rental stock with asking rents of up to £700 per month.

In Glasgow, 61% of current available rental stock is listed with an asking rent of up to £1,200 per month, with the average cost of renting in the Scottish city sitting at £1,105 per month.

While London is notoriously the most expensive city in Britain when it comes to the cost of renting, the capital isn’t the worst when it comes to realistically priced stock levels. 21% of all current London rentals boast an asking rent close to, or below, the capital’s current average rental cost of £1,751 per month.

It is, in fact, Newcastle where tenants will have the hardest time finding a property based on the current average cost of renting. Just 9% of all current rental properties listed on the market in Newcastle have an asking price of £700 per month or less, close to the city’s current average rental cost of £681 per month.

Sam Reynolds, CEO of Zero Deposit commented:

“Today’s rental market is a perfect storm for tenants and for many, successfully navigating the rental market to find their perfect property is an impossibly tough task. The biggest obstacle remains the cost of securing a property.

Doing your research is always key, but especially today as tenants are being forced to heavily compromise and reset expectations to find an acceptable property. The compromises span the number of bedrooms, outside space and increasingly, the location of the property. Average salaries, while improving, aren’t keeping pace with the rental market.

Statistics on rental market affordability will often focus around the ‘average’ cost of renting in a given area and while this is useful information to have, it won’t necessarily provide you with a realistic benchmark of how affordable a given area is.

For example, less than one in 10 rental properties in Newcastle currently command an asking rent at or below the city’s average, which demonstrates the challenge renters face when it comes to their hunt for a rental home.”