PRIVATE rent in Bradford rose by an average of seven per cent in the past year, new figures show.

Provisional data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals the average private rent in Bradford reached £687 per month in the year to September - up seven per cent from £641 a year prior.

It was also up 25 per cent from an estimated £548 a month five years ago.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, the average private rent was £798 - rising six per cent from the year before.

York had the highest average private rent in the region at £1,107 per month, while the lowest was in North East Lincolnshire at £571.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said "budget threats" were driving up rents.

She added: "Given the continued exodus of landlords, renters face the double misery of fighting over the scraps and then paying a fortune for them."

In September, the average private rent in Great Britain was £1,295 per month. This was £101, or eight per cent, higher than 12 months ago.

Meanwhile, separate ONS figures show Consumer Price Index inflation has slowed to 1.7 per cent in September, down from 2.2 per cent in August.

Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of campaign group Generation Rent, said: "Our biggest monthly expense is going up far faster than inflation or our wages.

"Renters are unable to save for the future, and many are still making painful decisions about whether to turn the heating on or skip a meal."

He urged the Government to include protections from unaffordable rent rises in the Renters' Rights Bill.

"The Government must cap rent increases at the lowest of inflation or wage growth to stop this huge discrepancy between rent costs and renters' incomes from widening," he said.

The Government's Renters' Rights Bill returned to Parliament for the second reading earlier this month.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: "I am determined to get this bill in to law as soon as possible. 

"We will deliver on our promise to renters and transform the sector into one where families can put down roots, where children can grow up in healthy homes, and where young people can save for their future."

Reforms to overhaul private renting in England are a long-held manifesto commitment from Labour.