Rental properties in Gravesham are becoming much less affordable, as soaring costs have outpaced household income growth.

Data from homeless charity Shelter shows rental rates across England have increased significantly more than household incomes since 2011, with it calling on the Government to build more affordable homes to meet the growing need for reasonable rents.

While traditionally seen as a London concern, in recent years the so-called ‘rentquake’ has started to spread from the capital to towns and cities across the country.

In Gravesham, the average rental cost of a two-bedroom home increased 29% between 2011 and 2017 – outpacing the growth in household income, which rose by just 8%.

In the 2017-18 financial year, the average monthly rent of a two-bedroom home in Gravesham cost £829.

Shelter has called on the Government to come up with a new plan for social housing, to ensure that people on low income jobs can find somewhere affordable to rent and reduce the competition in the private rented sector.

Greg Beales, the campaign director at the charity, said: “With this surge in private renters the housing market has shifted massively and yet as a country we’ve failed to respond.

“This has resulted in consecutive governments focusing on better-off home owners while not doing enough for hard-pressed renters. We need politicians of all parties to sit up and take notice of the rising numbers of renters, and ensure they’re doing all they can to protect them.”

The situation was most pronounced in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, where rental prices increased by 42%. The average salary, meanwhile, was up by just 2%.

Rental prices have become a more significant concern in recent years, as the number of households renting from private owners has risen by 74% in the last decade.

Of the estimated 23.1 million households in England in 2016-17, the private rented sector accounted for 4.7 million, or 20%, of households.

Across England, the proportion of household income spent on rent by private renters has also increased, and according to the most recent figures stands at 41%.