Wigan rents among lowest in Greater Manchester

But as new analysis reveals the increase in rental prices across England is outstripping wage rises, leading charities have called for urgent investment in affordable social housing.

The median monthly rent for a property in Wigan was £485 in 2018-19, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. That placed it ninth out of the 10 council areas in Greater Manchester, where average prices were £625 a month. The median is a measure used to exclude extreme values which could skew the average.

Rents across England have risen by 22 per cent since 2010-11, with the average now £700. Average salaries meanwhile have only increased by 17 per cent.

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said “decades of failure” to build social homes had left millions with little hope of escaping the financial hardship they face in the private rental market.

She said: “Despite working all the hours they can, millions are struggling to keep up with the sky-high cost of private rents. Recent efforts to improve renters’ rights by banning costly letting fees and committing to abolish ‘no-fault’ evictions are very welcome, but private renting is not always the right place for struggling families to live.

“Ultimately, the only way to solve the housing emergency is for the government to commit to building at least 90,000 genuinely affordable social homes a year over the course of this parliament.”

Property is much more expensive for women than men.

With the average one-bedroom flat in Wigan costing £375 in 2018-19, the typical woman would have to fork out 25 per cent of her pre-tax earnings to live alone, compared to 16 per cent for the average man.

Across England, women would have to pay 38 per cent of their salary on average to live alone, compared to 24 per cent for men.

Shelter defines housing as unaffordable if it takes up more than 30 per cent of a household’s income.

The biggest rent increase in Wigan, where data is available, has been for rooms in house shares, followed by homes with four or more bedrooms.