Annual rent growth in UK outside of London up almost 5% in final quarter of 2015

Average annual rent growth across the UK, excluding London, was 4.9% for new tenancies signed during the final three months of 2015 than in same period of 2014, the latest index data shows.

It means that the average monthly rent outside of London now stands at £739 while in the capital rents increased by a much larger 8% year on year in the final quarter of 2015, taking the average to £1,523.
 
The HomeLet rental index shows that after London the biggest annual rise was in the South East at 7%, followed by 6.4% in the East Midlands, 5.7% in East Anglia and 5.5% in the South West.

In Scotland annual rental growth was 3.2%, in Yorkshire and the Humber it was 3.1%, in Wales it was 2.3%, in the North East it was 1.9%, and in the West Midlands 1.7%.

The biggest annual fall in monthly rental prices was in the North West with a decrease of 5.1% while Northern Ireland recorded a fall of 0.6%.

The data also reveals that Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle recorded the largest increase in rents last year amongst the country’s largest towns and cities.

Rents in Brighton and Bristol were, on average, 18% higher than on new tenancies agreed in 2014, taking them to £1,078 and £904 respectively, while rents were up by 16% in Edinburgh and Newcastle to £891 and £518 respectively.
 
Martin Totty, chief executive officer of HomeLet parent company Barbon Insurance, pointed out that 2015 was a year in which rents on new tenancies were up compared with 2014 in almost every area of the country.

‘While we saw a moderation in the rate at which rents increased during the final months of the year, and even some falls in a number of regions, the sector overall has continued to see strong demand,’ he said.
 
He also explained that rents in London have continued to rise more quickly than in most areas of the country, but not at quite the pace of 2014, while average rents outside of the capital rose more quickly last year than in 2014.

‘As a result, we saw a narrowing of the rent inflation gap between London and the regions last year,’ he added.