RENTS in Brighton and Hove are becoming less affordable as rises outpace household income growth.

Data from Shelter shows that rental rates across England have increased significantly more than incomes since 2011.

The housing charity is now calling on the Government to build more affordable homes to meet the growing need for reasonable rents.

In Brighton and Hove, the average rental cost of a two-bedroom home increased 26 per cent between 2011 and 2017 – outpacing the growth in household income, which rose by just 7 per cent.

In the 2017-18 financial year, the average monthly rent of a two-bedroom home in the city cost £1,180.

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

Campaign director Greg Beales 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.”