YORK is one of the most unaffordable places to rent in Yorkshire and the Humber, new figures have shown.

Private rents swallow up 37 per cent of people’s wages in the city with average monthly rents costing £738.

However, The National Housing Federation report has shown Leeds and Harrogate are more expensive with average private rents costing £819 and £802 respectively.

Renters in Hambleton and Ryedale are also facing private rents that are taking up more than 30 per cent of their income.

Daniel Klemm, external affairs manager for Yorkshire and the Humber at the National Housing Federation, said: “Private renters today are getting a raw deal and are paying the price for a housing crisis that’s been decades in the making.

“Unless we build the affordable homes we desperately need, ordinary working families and young people will continue to struggle to pay their rent, and will have less and less money left to cover basic bills like food and heating.

“We need a long-term plan from politicians to put this right. We’re calling on all political parties to commit to end the housing crisis within a generation.”

Across the region, the figures suggest that private renters now spend twice as much of their income on their housing costs as homeowners do.

In Hambleton, an average rent of £598 takes 31.3 per cent of people's monthly earnings and in Ryedale a rent of £562 takes 30.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, among the cheapest places to rent is the East Riding of Yorkshire where average rent is £496 and Barnsley where it's £445.

The National Housing Federation campaigns for affordable housing in England.

Earlier this year The Press reported how home buyers were also struggling as prices in the city had soared to nearly six times the average buyer’s earnings – making it one of the most expensive places to live in the UK.