Rent in Pembrokeshire has risen by over 5% in the past year, new figures show.

Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics show the average private rent reached £618 in September 2024.

This is an annual increase of 6.7% from £579 in September 2023, slightly less than the average rise in Wales of 8.3%.

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 per cent of the market. 

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." 

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

He added: "Renters are being exploited by an out-of-control market, and the lack of protections that allow unscrupulous landlords to maximise the rent at every opportunity. 

"As a result, 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 figures also show the different costs for various homes in Pembrokeshire and how they have risen since last year.

The average price for a house in August 2024 was £238,000, which shows a 6.5% from August 2023 and is higher than the rise in Wales (3.5%) over the same period.

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

“The thousands of children and families living in unsafe housing or under the cruel threat of a Section 21 eviction notice have been waiting far too long already. 

"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." 

To find out more about rental and housing prices in Pembrokeshire, visit the Office for National Statistics website.