MINISTERS were urged to introduce a cap on rent hikes today after official figures showed they continued to rise faster than wages.

The average monthly private rent rose by 5.7 per cent to £1,348 in the 12 months to August, according to the Official for National Statistics.

Average earnings meanwhile grew by 4.8 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year.

Chief executive at Generation Rent campaign group Ben Twomey said: “Homes are the foundations of our lives, but rents continue to rise faster than our wages, swallowing more and more of our income. 

“High rents push people into homelessness and trap them in temporary accommodation, they pull children into poverty and prevent people from saving for the future. 

“We rightly have caps on our energy and water bills, but the same protections don’t exist to stop landlords from pricing us out of our homes. 

“The government can and must act through devolving powers to mayors to limit rent increases in their areas.” 

Today London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that the power to cap rents is top of his list in new powers under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

During the London Assembly Mayor’s Question Time, he said that the Bill’s white paper proposals to devolve selective licensing powers to London would “give councils the power to regulate the private rented sector in consultation with City Hall.”

The Office for National Statistics said that average rents rose by 5.8 per cent in England, 7.8 per cent in Wales, and 3.5 per cent in Scotland in the 12 months to August.

Average rent last month was highest in London (£2,253) and lowest in the North East (£745).