CAMPAIGNERS demanded the government take action and “slam the brakes” on surging rent costs in Britain as tenants marked the “cost of rent day” today.

Generation Rent and the Renters’ Reform Coalition marked May 11, when on average all of a renter’s annual income to that point goes directly to their landlord, with urgent calls for mayors to be given powers to limit rent increases.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures and research from rent reform campaigners showed that the median average household spends about 36 per cent of their shared income on an average-priced rented home in England.

But some more expensive areas have their “cost of rent day” fall later in the year, including in London, where the average day falls on June 2 and in Bristol on June 13.

According to analysis by the House of Commons Library, between the 1960s and the early 1980s, private renters spent on average around 10 per cent of their income on rent in most of the country, and around 15 per cent in London.

Currently, the average cost of rent also trumps what homeowners with a mortgage pay on average, with just 19 per cent of their income on housing costs.

The average social housing tenant spends 27 per cent of their income on rent.

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey warned that high rents mean “children are going to school hungry or older renters who can’t afford to turn the heating on.”

“High rents trap people in homelessness and suck money out of local communities,” he said.

“The government must urgently give metro mayors the power to slam the brakes on soaring rents through limiting rent increases.”

Renters’ Reform Coalition director Clara Collingwood said the research “shows just how unsustainable the cost of renting has become.”

“Our research has found nearly a third of tenants struggle to afford essentials due to the cost of rent,” she said.

“And while section 21 evictions have finally been banned in England, for many renters, unaffordable rent increases will have exactly the same effect, forcing people out of their homes and communities.”

A  government spokesperson said the Renters’ Rights Act is “giving millions of tenants stronger rights and more security in their homes,” adding that this included “stronger powers to challenge rent increases.”