WINCHESTER has topped a list of local authorities in Hampshire ranking them by rental prices.

The survey, which uses data from the National Office of Statistics, showed that average rental prices in the city have surged to £1,329 per month, over £300 more than those in Gosport.

Other costly places to rent in the county include Hart at £1,280, Portsmouth at £1,259 and Basingstoke and Dean at £1,157.

Southampton, Eastleigh and Fareham came in towards the lower end of the rental-price spectrum, with a month's rent costing around £1,100 on average.

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Another recent survey revealed that the average rental price in Winchester is more than 50 per cent of the average Wintonian's wage.

Rent in Winchester has increased 8% from £1,238 a year ago, and has jumped 30% from £1,030 when records started in 2015.

Across England, rent has increased 9% from last year and 35% since 2015.

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said: "Successive governments have failed to build the social rent homes we desperately need and private rents are continuing to rocket as a result.

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"Every day we hear from people who are forced to cough up money they simply don’t have just to keep hold of an overpriced and often shoddy rental."

She added renters are left to accept "eyewatering rent hikes" due to competitive rental markets and a lack of protection from evictions.

She said the next government must urgently ban Section 21 "no-fault" evictions, limit in-tenancy rent increases and extends notice periods.

"But long-term, the only way to take the heat off private renting is to invest in a new generation of genuinely affordable social homes with rents tied to local incomes," she added.