Congratulations, it’s Rental Freedom Day - but not for Londoners!

Break out the bubbly and propose a toast – today, Sunday, May 12, is this year’s Rental Freedom Day.
PropertyProperty
Property

It is the 132nd day of the year, and the experts reckon it takes 132 days for an average UK tenant to earn enough to pay off the annual cost of their rent.

Unsurprisingly, tenants in the south and London still have a while to wait until their freedom day dawns.

But the equivalent date for homeowners paying what they owe on their mortgage arrived a month ago, on April 13.

Halifax mortgage director Craig McKinlay said: “Housing costs are usually people’s biggest outgoing every month, and our calculations show there is a significant difference between buying and renting.

“If you rent your home, then you will need to do about a month’s extra work to cover the annual cost of renting compared to paying a mortgage.

“Halifax understands that for those who do pay rent, saving for a deposit on a home is never easy, which is why we are committed to reducing the borrowing costs for first-time buyers. We recently announced we will cover the cost of Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on purchases up to £250,000.”

Regionally, the north west was the first to achieve Rental Freedom (April 5) this year, just ahead of the North East (April 8), the East Midlands (April 13), and Yorkshire & the Humber (April 15).

The first southern region to achieve Rental Freedom Day will be the South East (May 17), but those in London will have to wait more than half a year, and more than two whole months after the first region for Rental Freedom Day (June 25).

Nationally, the earliest Rental Freedom Day occurs in Northern Ireland (March 27), the only area to hit the mark in March.

For all the other home nations Rental Freedom Day doesn’t occur until the second quarter of the year. In Wales the date is April 11, just ahead of Scotland, (April 15).