Rents in the UK, excluding London, rose by just 1.18% in the 12 months to July 2018, at the slowest pace since April 2013, data showed.

Rental growth has reached its lowest point in Scotland since the index began, at 0.98% year-on-year, whilst in Wales rental growth reached its lowest level since June 2015 at 1.60%, according to the latest Landbay Rental Index.

Regional overview

Despite this, strong growth can still be found in many areas in the UK. Monmouthshire in Wales leads the pack with rental growth at 3.22%, followed by Nottingham at 2.87% and Conwy at 2.71% in third.

Four of the 10 best-performing areas are in Wales, while Scotland and England both have three apiece.

Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire top the two worst performing spots – both areas were heavily hit as the local economy was impacted by the drop-in oil price in 2014, but the area is showing signs of a recovery. England has seven of the worst performing areas.

John Goodall, CEO and co-founder of Landbay said: “Rental growth across the UK is stuttering. However, there are signs of a recovering market in London and stronger demand for rental properties. On the face of it, landlords have had a tough time in the past two years from increased regulatory pressure to a significant increase in stamp duty costs, yet they have managed to shoulder many of these costs without passing them onto tenants.”