Rent in Cornwall rose 8% over the past year, new figures show.

It comes after separate data from the Office for National Statistics showed rent affordability has worsened in England, as people earning a median salary are expected to spend more than 30% of their income on an average-priced rented home.

Provisional figures from the ONS show the average private rent in Cornwall reached £972 per month in the year to July – up 8% from £900 a year prior.

It was also up 29% from an estimated £754 a month five years ago.

Valuation Office Agency rent officers collect prices from a variety of sources, including landlords and letting agents, with the aim to collect data on approximately 10% of the market.

Across the South West, the average rent was £1,184 – rising 5% from the year before.

Bristol had the highest rental cost in the region at £1,765 per month, while the lowest was in Torridge at £769.

In July, the average private rent in Great Britain was £1,355 per month. This was £76, or 6%, higher than 12 months ago.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, which advocates for the rights of private renters, said: "These statistics are a sour reminder of how the unchecked cost of renting since the pandemic has stretched renters so thin that we simply can’t afford to pay any more.

"Renters are being crushed under the weight of high, unaffordable rents.

"This often means choosing between heating or eating or going into debt."

He added: "The Government must urgently slam the breaks on soaring rents, to give renters up and down the country the breathing space we need."

Nathan Emerson, chief executive of property sector professional body Propertymark, said the rental market is set "to undergo fundamental changes aimed at strengthening consumer protection", as the Renters’ Rights Bill is in its final stages.

He added: "We currently stand at a point where, on average, across the UK there are typically six people making an application for every rental property available.

"This represents an extremely unhealthy situation where long-term investment is urgently needed to keep pace with growing demand across nearly all regions."

Separate data from the ONS shows rent affordability has worsened in England, as people earning a median salary could expect to spend 36.3% of their income on an average-priced rented home in 2024.

This means rent prices were above the 30% threshold that the ONS considers to be affordable.

And it marks an increase on the 33.1% of household income that average renters were paying in 2023.

The provisional figures also show the different costs for various homes in Cornwall, from £667 for a one-bed property to £1,467 for a home with four or more bedrooms in July.

Among the property types in the area:

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "We are taking decisive action to fix the housing crisis and deliver 1.5 million homes through our Plan for Change.

"The best way to improve housing affordability is to increase supply which is why we are driving up housebuilding, including delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation – backed by £39bn investment.

"Alongside this our Renters’ Rights Bill will transform lives for tenants by capping advance payments to a month’s rent, banning unfair bidding wars, and giving tenants the right to directly challenge excessive rent hikes."