The cost for a family of renting a home in Medway has increased by 21% over the last four years, figures have revealed.

Between April 2013 and March 2014 the median monthly rent for a three-bedroom family house in Medway was £700, according to figures from the Valuation Office Agency.

However by 2017-18 that cost spiralled to £850. The average rise across England over that period was 15%.

The UK currently has the highest number of private renters in the country’s history, more than one in five households. By 2021 one in four people are expected to be private tenants.

Adults in their 20s and 30s have been nicknamed Generation Rent as soaring house prices have put buying properties out of reach.

In Medway, the overall median monthly rent was £750. That’s a rise of 15.4% since 2013-14, when the VOA first began publishing this data.

This is lower than average for the South East, which is £875.

-

The cost to rent a one-bedroom property is now £625. That’s a 17.9% rise on 2013-14.

The median is the middle figure out of a group of numbers, so not distorted by very high and very low rents.

The figures are calculated after the VOA has collected samples throughout the 12 month period. Different years have different sample sizes so annual changes are estimates.

Dan Wilson Craw, director of pressure group Generation Rent, said: “Renters are in a bind. If they choose to live where there’s a strong jobs market they might see their pay packet gobbled up by high rents.

“If they live somewhere cheaper, either there’s a risk that it’s harder to find a stable job or they pay for it in higher commuting costs.

“The government must make renting a more secure arrangement, with restrictions on rent rises and unfair evictions, but also look at how to introduce a living rent that ordinary workers can afford.”

Lawrence Bowles, research analyst at the estate agents Savills, said: “The outlook is strong for investors. The current figures show rental values falling, but we’re expecting a return to growth over the next five years.

“However this is less positive for tenants.”

Mr Bowles explained that rental stock was likely to decrease as the Government reduced tax relief on buy to let mortgages. Savills estimates that by 2022 buy to let lending will drop by 27%.