London parents charge their children the steepest rent prices in the UK

The parents of children living at home in London charge more than any others in the UK, according to a recent survey.

Commissioned by Nationwide Building Society, the survey of more than 2,000 participants revealed that London-based parents charge an average of £227.89 (2.2 times) a month more than those in Yorkshire and the Humber, where they charge the least.

Here’s the full list of rents per month

• London, £414.97
• Northern Ireland, £397.39
• East of England, £386.34
• Wales, £319.95
• North East, £268.73
• South East, £268.10
• Scotland, £260.56
• South West, £256.19
• West Midlands, £239.89
• North West, £230.25
• East Midlands, £211.40
• Yorkshire and the Humber, £187.08

But the high London rent prices charged by parents are hardly surprising when in the private market they are th most expensive.

According to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data, London has seen a 2.2 per cent rent hike over the past year, bumping up to an average of £2,302 per month from £2,252 last year.

This is £843 more than the average monthly cost of rent in the UK - £1,459 per month.

While the Nationwide survey revealed that some parents can be surprisingly shrewd when it comes to rent pricing, more than half of parents also said they return some or all of the rent paid by their children to support their homeownership ambitions.

More than two-fifths of parents also said they have waived rent payments for their child once in the past year, while more than half said they have let children off rent payments between two and six times in the past 12 months.

Carlo Pileggi, Nationwide’s head of mortgage products, said: “Behind many first-time buyer success stories are parents quietly helping along the way and it appears they are using new tactics to support their children.

“As saving for a home remains as challenging as ever, our research shows many of Britain’s parents are using rent payments as a way to help their children build a deposit, turning the family home and time spent living at home into a stepping stone towards homeownership.

“However, the findings also serve as a reminder that many aspiring first-time buyers do not have access to family support and continue to face significant challenges in saving for a deposit.”