Renting relatively cheaper than buying

According to letting agency Countrywide the average UK tenant pays 93p to each £1 paid by the average homeowner on mortgage costs. This is a fall from 96p to the £1 paid last year.

This relative fall reflects a differential between house price increases and rent increases and you could argue sticks another pin in the inflated accusations that all 'landlords are greedy'.

London's renters have seen the greatest relative fall. The average London tenant now spends just 86p on rent to the £1 spent by homeowners.

With future wage rises expected to overtake rent increases by July, surely its time to stop the accusations of 'rip off landlords'… or are there other forces at play: smaller rental flats, worsening tenant ghettos, poorer quality rental stock…. who knows.