Private rents in Great Britain hit record high, data shows

Rightmove calls on new government to prioritise sector as rents outside London climb 7% in a year

Average private rents in Great Britain have climbed to record highs, prompting a call for the next government to prioritise measures to help create an extra 120,000 rental properties.

Data shows that the typical advertised rent outside London reached a record 1,316 a calendar month in May, the property website Rightmove said. The figure for London was 2,652 a month - almost three times the 894 asked for in north-east England.