St Helens rent rises 8 percent as critics slam 'out of control market'

With an increasing lack of affordable and social housing across the UK, the only alternative for many people is in the private renting sector.

However, although wages have failed to keep up with inflation and the cost of living crisis, private rents have continued to shoot up, leaving renters spending more and more of their pay packet on rental costs.

Renters in St Helens haven't been immune from this trend, with the average cost of rent jumping 8.4 percent from £647 per month in September 2023 to £701 twelve months later.

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Rental increases in St Helens

Looking further into the figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average rental increase for a one bedroom flat or apartment in St Helens grew from £472 per month in September 2023 to £514.

In the same period, the rental costs for two bedrooms grew from an average of £587 to £637. Three bedrooms grew from £724 to £783, while a four bedroom (or more) property grew from an average of £1,083 to £1,156 per month.

Looking back further, the average rented property in St Helens jumped 33 percent from September 2019 to September 2024, from £527 to £701.

Going back even further to January 2015, when the ONS figures began, the stats shows a jump of 64 percent, from an average rental cost of £427 to today's cost of £701.

'Out of control market'

Angela Rayner said she is determined to get the Rentiers Rights Bill into law (Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)With perennial rent rises outstripping incomes, campaign group Generation Rent said renters across Britain are being exploited by an "out of control market".

Critics have also slammed the lack of protections that renters have had to put up with over the years, with countless tenants threatened with 'Section 21' notices, which gives landlords the powers to evict tenants without having to establish any fault.

With the Government's Renters' Rights Bill aiming to tackle Section 21 notices and give more renters more protection, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said she is "determined to get this Bill in to law as soon as possible".

Another worry in this crisis it the tenants who struggle to afford the private rental market, and are eligible for benefits and Local Housing Allowances (LHA) to assist their payments to private landlords.

In St Helens, this weekly housing allowance is £74.74 for a one bedroom shared property, £97.81 for a one bedroom property, £120.82 for two bedrooms, £143.84 for three bedrooms, and £184.11 for four bedrooms.

Although these benefits have increased from last year, there is also concern that they are not keeping up with rental increases, which means tenants are paying more out of their own money and living costs to stump up their rent.

Benefits 'have not kept pace with rental market rates'

Councillor Trisha Long, Cabinet Member for Supporting Neighbourhoods, said: “Conditions in the private rental sector continue to challenge households in the borough and across the country.

"While the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – the new way of paying Housing Benefit – can grant private tenants greater choice in where they wish to live, the reality is that LHA rates have not kept pace with rental market rates in recent years, leaving many households struggling.

“Coupled with the effects of the cost-of-living crisis and other complex factors, the result is that we’re seeing many more households in need of financial support and a significant number of people losing their rental properties via Section 21 Notices.

“Through its Homelessness Early Intervention & Prevention service our Housing Options team is supporting residents in rent arrears before they reach the point of risk of homelessness, and can provide valuable guidance to both tenants and landlords.

“Meanwhile, our wider response to the cost-of-living crisis continues under the St Helens Together umbrella, directing residents to local and national sources of financial support alongside access to food pantries and wellbeing services, energy efficiency and warmer homes advice, and assistance with care for children, elderly, disabled and vulnerable people."

• More information about Local Housing Allowance can be found here. 
• More information about housing advice can be found here.
• More information about the council's 'St Helens Together' support scheme can be found here.