The average rent for a UK property grew by 0.05% in October, slowing from 0.09% in September, according to Landbay.

Rental growth is slowing as a result of falling rents in London (-0.11%), which have dragged down resilient rental growth in the rest of England (0.15%) and UK (0.14%).

The average UK rent is now £1,188, with London’s average at £1,889, and the rest of the UK being £748 per month.

Rental hotspots

Luton (7.11%), Edinburgh City (5.63%) and Northamptonshire (5.59%) were the top three areas for rental growth in the last year, with nine of the top ten ‘rental risers’ situated in England.

Aberdeen (-13.22%) and Aberdeenshire (-9.03%), both hit by the dramatic fall in oil prices since mid-2014, have seen by far the greatest rental falls in the UK over the past year. Overall however, Scotland has seen rents grow by 1.55% over the past 12 months, the fastest growth of all the UK Home Nations.

John Goodall, CEO and co-founder of Landbay said: “Rental growth is slowing across the UK, but the pace of change varies wildly between regions. Falling rents in some of the most expensive parts of the country, especially prime London locations, can distort the picture for the rest of England and the UK where rents are continuing to grow at a steady pace. In the last month alone, rents fell by -0.11% in London, while they continued an upward climb of 0.15% in the rest of England.

“Any moderation in rental price inflation will always be welcomed by generation rent, the swelling population of aspiring homeowners and long term tenants. As this month’s Autumn Statement comes over the horizon, all eyes will be on how the UK’s chronic housing shortage will be addressed. Unless supply catches up with demand, there’s nothing to suggest overall rents will go in any direction other than up.”