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Only one UK region saw rents fall in 2017 – can you guess which?

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
26/01/2018

Average rents across the UK rose by 1.7% in December 2017 compared to the same month a year previously, according to figures from Homelet.

The specialist insurance provider found that the the average monthly UK rent is now £907 compared to £892 in December of the previous year.

But in the South East of England average rents were 1.0% lower in December 2017 than in the same month of 2016.

In fact, rents fell year-on-year in the region during every month of 2017.

Sky high rental rises

The East Midlands saw the highest rate of rental price inflation in December, with rents 4.6% up compared to a year previously.

Rents in the East Midlands now average £611 a month, remaining lower than most regions of the country other than Wales, and the North East. Rental price inflation exceeded 3% in three other regions last month: the South West, the North East and Northern Ireland.

London stalling

December’s 1.0% increase in rents in London means the capital saw positive rental price inflation compared to December 2016, despite registering falling rents in five months of the year.

The average tenancy agreed in London last month cost £1,524, compared to £1,509 a year previously.

HomeLet’s chief executive officer, Martin Totty said: “2017 was a year in which rental price inflation was modest; we actually saw average rents across the country fall during May and June, and while this was not repeated during the second half of the year, we remain some way off the much higher levels of rental price inflation that prevailed in 2015 and much of 2016.”

“We continue to see a very mixed picture regionally: in areas of the country where rents rose less quickly in 2015 and 2016, rental price inflation was much higher last year; by contrast, those areas where rents were previously rising fastest have been seeing much more modest increases.”