Average residential property rents in Great Britain grew by just 1.3% in the period May 2012 to May 2013, far below the rate of inflation, according to new official statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The British Property Federation (BPF) have responded to this data, which show rents only rising by 0.8% if London is excluded, by saying that it should put an end to the myth claiming that rents are rising far above inflation.

Ian Fletcher, Director of Policy at the British Property Federation, said: “For too long we have lacked a decent official statistic on rental growth, and as a result that void has been filled by all manner of surveys and commentators all too prepared to paint a false picture of what is happening to rents in the private rented sector. This index is therefore welcome and though experimental, hopefully will become an established part of our national statistics and provide the insight we have lacked.

“What is clear is that rents in the private rented sector have not risen at anything like the rate that some people would like to portray. Private rents do not rise at the rate that is often perceived because most landlords do not raise rents every calendar year, but only when a tenant moves on, which is typically every 20 months or so. There is also a view amongst some commentators that frothy rents in a few postcodes in London are somehow indicative of the country as a whole.”

The ONS statistics indicate that between May 2012 and May 2013 private rental prices fell in ‘real terms’ in every English region with the largest rental price increase in London at 2.2% and the South East at 1.2%, but they were both below May’s annual RPI inflation rate of 3.1% and CPI of 2.7%. During the same period rental prices decreased by 0.1% in the North East.

Fletcher continued: “These figures show that someone paying a rent of £500 a month would have seen their rent rise to £506.50 over the past year, far lower inflation than in their energy, food or transport costs. I hope this marks the end of careless talk about rent controls, and instead we concentrate on some of the real challenges facing the sector, such as how to attract investment to help deliver more homes.”

The data also shows that rent inflation in the PRS has undershot inflation over the past eight years as between May 2005 and May 2013 rental prices increased by 8.4% in England, with the largest increase during this period in London at 11% followed by the East at 8.3%, whilst the smallest rental price increase was in the North East at 5.2% followed by the East Midlands at 5.3%.