August sees biggest increase in rents this year

Rents in the UK rose by an average of 2.4 per cent during August, new data from HomeLet reveals – the highest rate of annual growth seen in the private rented sector this year.

And in the North West, the average rent was £703 a month, up from £685 a year ago, a rise of 2.6 per cent.

Nationally, the average rent agreed on a new tenancy signed last month was £939 according to the August HomeLet Rental Index, compared to £916 in the same month of 2016. August’s increase in average rents was partly driven by a return to inflation in the London market, where rents agreed on new tenancies last month were 2.4 per cent higher than in August 2016.

Last month’s increase took the average rent in the capital to £1,609 – the first-time rents in London have been above £1,600.

Excluding London, rental price inflation has also picked up.

Ten out of the 11 remaining regions beyond the capital seeing rents increasing last month.

HomeLet’s chief executive officer, Martin Totty, said: “Whilst we’ve often observed a seasonal uplift in average rents at this time of year, there’s evidence of a trend now emerging which points to a reversal of the declines seen over the early part of this year.

“This will be a welcome relief to landlords,” he added.