City’s 8% rate of rent inflation labelled “outrageous” by Labour councillor
thee Office for National Statistics released new figures last year which starkly reveal the reality of spiralling rent rates in Sheffield.
Private rents increased by 8% in 2024, putting the average monthly payment at £868 for the first time ever. This is the one of the highest rates of rent increase in Yorkshire, the average of which was 5.7% outside Sheffield.
8% is also much higher than inflation rates in the same time period, which has been closer to 3.5%. This suggests that landlords are charging tenants for costs above and beyond those that have arisen merely as a result of the cost of living crisis that has made its presence felt since 2021.
Labour councillor for Crookes and Crosspool, Minesh Parekh, released an official statement in December, in which he voiced his concerns that local politicians were powerless to represent overcharged tenants. Sheffield magazine
Now Then noted that this is in direct contrast to countries like France, Spain, and the Netherlands, where the free reign private landlords hold over rent has been governmentally controlled since the cost of living crisis.
Councillor Parekh stated that ‘renting in Sheffield is brutal. In the time since I graduated, rents have risen by almost 40% – an outrageous and unsustainable rate.’ His stance is not official Labour policy, though he is widely supported on this issue.
‘Student renters have seen rent rise disproportionately while maintenance loans remain static’, he said when approached by Forge to voice his concerns for Sheffield’s students, who are already being subjected to rising student fees as of 2025. ‘We should be able to control rent prices to stop price hikes and properly restrain our broken housing market.’
The housing crisis Sheffield is experiencing may affect those living in council housing even more than it will negatively impact students who, at least, have the advantage of being able to live with multiple other tenants and therefore split the rent more ways. The BBC reports that a 2.7% increase in rent for those in council housing had been approved by Sheffield city councillors on Wednesday 29th January.
The student population in Sheffield and indeed the UK at large are victims of well-publicised and ever-increasing costs. The recent rent inflation is the latest in a long list. It is also, however, a timely reminder that the country at large feels the pinch just as tightly as we do.
Written by Frank Morrish
