PRIVATE renters in Southampton pay hundreds of pounds extra per month to keep a roof over their heads compared to those in social homes, figures show.

The average weekly rent for a social home in Southampton was £91 in March last year, Regulator of Social Housing figures show – about £392 per month.

But Office for National Statistics data shows the average private rent in the area was £801 – around £409 ore expensive.

Social housing is provided by housing associations or councils, and rent is pegged to local incomes. The RSH figures are net rent, which excludes service charges.

Council-owned social housing was cheaper, amounting to roughly £372 per month on average, while for private providers of social homes it was £448.

The average social renter across the South East was set back £101 per week – around £438 a month – while a private renter faced a bill of £999.

Housing campaigners have slammed the Government for not doing more to support renters in its Budget after the Chancellor announced additional help for home buyers.

They say building more social homes is the best solution to thousands of tenants across the country having their bank balances “bled dry by expensive private rents”.

In the recent Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced an extension of the stamp duty holiday, suspending the tax on all property sales up to £500,000 until June.

The threshold will then drop to £250,000 before returning to the pre-pandemic level of £125,000 in October.

He also introduced a mortgage guarantee scheme so home-buyers can get mortgages with 5% deposits more easily.

But Mr Sunak has faced criticism for what some saw as a lack of support for struggling renters.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokeswoman said the Government is “providing more support than ever before to help people onto the housing ladder”.

She added: “Alongside First Homes, Shared Ownership, our £12 billion investment in affordable housing and our Help to Buy scheme, the Chancellor this week announced a new mortgage guarantee scheme that will help thousands more families take their first step into a home they own.”