20 areas in the UK have seen the average rent paid for a residential property grow in excess of 3% over the last year, according to the latest Landbay Rental Index, powered by MIAC.

These findings highlight the growing affordability crisis facing the 4.3m tenants in the UK, and follow the government commitments outlined in last week’s Housing White Paper to create a fair and better-served private rented sector.

Landbay’s analysis suggests these 20 areas, where rental growth is reaching unsustainable levels, should now be the prioritised focus for government, developers and landlords. The current pace of growth means a tenant in Luton (the area with the fastest growing rents at 6.5%) is now paying an extra £528 over the year on rent, bringing total annual rent paid to £9,354.

The government’s white paper also highlighted the growing proportion of income tenants are currently spending on rent, sending roughly half their salary to their landlord each month. Landbay’s analysis found that tenants in nine of the 20 areas with the fastest growing rents are currently spending over 60% of their take-home pay on rent. A tenant in Luton for example, currently spends an average of 68% of their disposable income on rent, with tenants in Brighton & Hove, Bristol and Thurrock spending an average of 69%, 64% and 63% respectively.