The average rent in the UK’s private rented sector increased by 3.8% in the 12 months to February 2019 to £940, according to the latest lettings index to be published.
However, when London is excluded, the average rent increased by slightly less, up 3.2% to £782, while the average in London was up by 4% to £1,599, the date from tenant referencing firm HomeLet shows.
All 12 of the regions monitored by HomeLet showed an increase in rental values between January 2018 and January 2019 with the largest a rise of 7.7% in the South West to an average of £868.
There was also strong annual rent growth in the South East, up 5.1% to £1,046, followed by Wales with rents up by 3.9% year on year to £616 and growth of 3.3% in Scotland to £653.
At the other end of the scale, annual rents increased by just 0.8% in the North East to £524, by 0.9% in the East of England to £915, while in the East Midlands they were up by 1% to £625 and up by 1.1% in Northern Ireland to £638.
Rents increased by 1.6% in Yorkshire and Humberside to £635, by 2.8% in the North West to £707, and by 2.7% in the West Midland to £694.
Month on month growth on a national basis was 0.9%, led by a rise of 4.1% in Scotland, followed by a rise of 2.3% in the South East and a rise of 1.7% in Wales.
But rents fell on a monthly basis by 1.9% in the North East, were down by 0.9% in Northern Ireland, and fell by 0.2% in Yorkshire and Humberside.
In the West Midlands rents crept up month on month by 0.1% and by 0.2% in the East Midlands, by 0.6% in the North West and by 0.7% in the East of England and in London.
The data also shows how the rental market in London varies considerably. The highest annual rise was in Wandsworth at 10.1%, followed by a rise of 9.6% in Haringey and Islington, a rise of 9.1% in Ealing, 7.8% in Bexley and Greenwich and a rise of 7.2% in Hackney and Newham.
In contrast, average rents fell by 3.7% in Croydon and were down by 3.2% in Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames. They increased by just 0/4% in Lewisham and Southwark, by 1% in Camden and the City of London, and by 1.3% in Bromley.
The highest rent in February in London was £2,281 in Westminster, followed by £2,059 in Lambeth, £2,054 in Camden and the City of London, £1,197 in Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith and Kensington and £1,789 in Tower Hamlets.
