Would you be able to afford an increase in rent this year?

A slowdown in rent inflation suggests that many tenants will not be able to bear the weight of ever increasing rental prices.

Rents in the West Midlands rose 1.9% across 2016, reaching an average of £663 per month in December.

This data from Homelet Rental Index reveals that the rate of inflation for rental properties in the region has actually halved in 2016, slowing from the annual change of 4% in 2015.

Rents across the UK told a similar story - rising on average 1.7% in December, which is less than half of the 3.8% rate of rental inflation in December 2015.

This slowdown in inflation has thrown up questions about the affordability of rent in the West Midlands and the UK and has cast doubt on how much rents can continue to rise in 2017.

Some property analysts had predicted that rents would see strong increases over the next few years, especially when compared to house price growth.

However, these new figures suggest that prices have already reached a peak that has risen beyond what the average tenant can afford - known as the “affordability ceiling”.

Many have speculated that landlords may have to raise rents in 2017 to deal with their own growing expenses.

Although, landlords might not be able to hike rents higher, as many hard-pressed tenants across the country will not be able to bear any further rises.

This puts the UK rental market in a difficult position for 2017.

Martin Totty, HomeLet’s chief executive, said: “While demand for rental property remains strong, landlords always have to be mindful of tenants’ ability to pay higher prices.”

“The data recorded by the HomeLet Rental Index during the second half of last year suggests we have now begun to approach an affordability ceiling, particularly in areas of the country where rental price inflation was previously highest.”

“While the industry has speculated that landlords will increase rents to mitigate the impact of factors such as the impending reductions in mortgage interest tax relief, this may prove problematic given the pricing trends we’re currently seeing in the market and the potential for higher inflation and a squeeze on real earnings in 2017.”

“The private rented sector is now having to cope with a series of disruptive elements, just at a time of great economic uncertainty, and amid a continuing systematic imbalance between supply and demand for residential property."

"The assumption that landlords have sufficient means to bear higher costs will soon be tested. Tenants must hope they do.”