INCREASES in the cost of mortgages, rents, home improvements and household maintenance have contributed towards the rise in inflation, according to a director of a local estate agent.

Nick Renny (pictured), of Martel Maides, said the latest figures, which show that housing costs rose by 4.7% in the 12 months to June, still carried some of the effect of interest rate rises last year and many mortgage holders had not yet seen the benefit of recent cuts in the base rate.

Mortgage interest payments account for the majority of the increase in the housing category, which has the largest weighting in the RPI calculations, but this also includes rents, property tax, home improvements and maintenance costs.

Mr Renny said that although house prices had stayed relatively static, many of these other costs had increased in the past year. The size of the RPI rise was therefore not unexpected.