Rents in Sheffield are up 25% on three years ago. Is it time to cap them?

Dear readers: one of Sheffield's enduring appeals has long been that it's fairly cheap to live here – even on a modest salary, you've generally been able to find somewhere to call home, even if it's a bit rough around the edges.

But the last three years have seen rents crank up. In just three years, they've climbed by a quarter. What's going on here? And is it time for the government to heed the call of one local Labour councillor and let councils put a cap on rents?

That's today's piece, which includes eye-opening graphs and diametrically opposing views on the question of whether rents should be forcibly put on hold. We're expecting the comments section to get spicy. If you want to read the whole article and get involved, then why not rent a room in the Tribune mansion? No dubious damp patches here. And you'll be joining some lovely housemates who all think Sheffield needs proper journalism.

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🏛️ The trial of the boy accused of murdering 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose at All Saints Catholic High School on Monday will take place in July. The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court this morning, speaking only to confirm his name. As well as murder, he is also charged with possession of a bladed article and affray. The boy was remanded into youth custody by Judge Jeremy Richardson until his next court hearing in April 2025. All Saints was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday but reopened again this morning.

☢️ Planning rules on where nuclear reactors can be built are being relaxed by the government. The Prime Minister will today claim that the reforms will “clear a path” for the introduction of small modular reactors (SMRs), which are faster to build than existing larger reactors. Oliver Coppard warmly welcomed the news as good for our region, which hopes to specialise in the technology.

However, a source told us the news was “one piece in the jigsaw”, but that there was still a big question mark over whether firms based in South Yorkshire would actually win the work. Major doubts remain over whether building SMRs in the UK is economically viable, which is one of the reasons Rolls Royce SMR recently moved to the Czech Republic. Companies like Forgemasters have been making big strides in improving the technology, but the university having just closed down its Nuclear AMRC is a major setback.

🚦People in Nether Edge were treated to the bizarre sight of a herd of zebras crossing the road on Wednesday morning. The zebras, which were actually local parents dressed up in black and white stripy costumes, were raising awareness of pedestrian safety in the area and campaigning for a zebra crossing to be installed near Nether Edge Primary School at the junction of Sheldon Road and Sandford Grove Road. Sheffield Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the junction was one of its school crossing patrol sites, but the post was currently vacant.

Rents in Sheffield are up 25% on three years ago. Is it time to cap them?

By Daniel Timms

Strange things have been going on in Sheffield’s rental market. A once fairly sleepy sector has suddenly begun heating up.

When you look at the graph, there’s clearly a moment where the line bends, around March 2022. Before this, rents were going up by about £12 a year. But in the summer of last year, average rents hit £855: £76 higher than it had been a year before. That rate of growth has since cooled off a bit, but clearly Sheffield’s rental market is a very different beast to what it was before Spring 2022. In fact, had the trend from 2015 to 2021 continued, rents would be almost £150 lower per month than they are now.

What’s remarkable is how consistent those increases have been across different property types. Detached, semi-detached, flats, one beds — it doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, its rent has gone up by about a quarter. There are also similar, if not higher, increases in other cities — such as Leeds (22%), Nottingham (27%), and Manchester (34%).

So what’s been pushing rents up in Sheffield? Is it set to continue? And is it time the council stepped in — and capped them?