Average rents in England Wales are just 0.5% above where they were in April 2018 at an average of £861 per calendar month, the latest rental tracker report shows.
But some areas are seeing stronger growth with rents in the West Midlands up 4% year on year, according to the data from the Your Move index.
The next biggest growth was an annual rise of 3.7% in the South West to take the average rent to £701, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber up 2.5% to £589, then the North West up 2.3% to £648 and the East Midlands up 2.2% to £666.
But rents fell by 1.1% in London and it remains the most expensive place to rent with an average rent of £1,262 per month, followed by the South East at £898 and the East of England at £874.
On a monthly basis, the East of England and the North East both saw rents fall by 0.1%, the only two areas to see rents fall on a monthly basis. The North East remains the cheapest place to rent, with an average monthly charge of £538.
Yields for landlords were stable between March and April, ending the recent squeeze on landlord returns and properties in every region of England and Wales offered the same returns this month as they did in the previous.
