Rent in Southend rose 5 per cent in the past year, new figures show.

It comes as campaign group Generation Rent said protections must be put in place to prevent rent costs rising above inflation and wage growth.

Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics show the average private rent in Southend reached £1,160 per month in the year to August – up 5 per cent from £1,100 a year prior.

It was also up 18 per cent from an estimated £980 a month five years ago.

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.

Across the East of England, the average rent was £1,167 – rising 8 per cent from the year before.

Generation Rent said rent has risen at a faster rate than wage growth across the UK.

Ben Twomey, chief executive, added: "This isn't news to renters, who have been feeling this squeeze for a very long time as our landlords snatch away more and more of our wages.

"The government’s Renters' Rights Bill, published last week, offers many positives for tenants, but the cost of renting crisis will rage on unless Westminster slams the brakes on these runaway rents."

In August, the average private rent in Great Britain was £1,286 per month. This was £100, or 8 per cent, higher than 12 months ago.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "A severe shortage of genuinely affordable social homes has forced millions of people to rely on the private rented sector, with rents continuing to soar as a result.

"With competition fierce, private renters have no choice but to pay over the odds just to keep a roof over their heads.

"Renters shouldn’t be forced out of their homes by eye-watering rent hikes but over 60,000 have lost their homes to big, unexpected jumps in rent in the past year alone."

The figures also show the different costs for various homes in Southend, from £772 for a one-bed property to £1,675 for a home with four or more bedrooms in August.

Among the property types in the area:

A detached housed cost £1,491 to rent per month A semi-detached cost £1,260 per month A terraced house was £1,170 per month And a flat or maisonette was £918 a month

A spokesman Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "Our landmark Renters' Rights Bill will introduce extra protections against unreasonable rent increases that stop landlords using large increases to force tenants out."

They added landlords will only be able to raise rents once per year to market rates, and said it will empower tenants to challenge unreasonable increases at a tribunal.

"We’ll also deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, including the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation," they said.