Your Move Scotland has found that the rental market north of the border continued to perform strongly in the year to October 2017, with the average property let for £572 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

This is 2.5% higher than the same point in 2016 and in line with last month.

The average Scottish rent – not seasonally adjusted – was £575 this month. This is marginally higher than September, when an average of £574 was recorded.

The Highlands & Islands region continues to grow faster than any other in this survey. Prices here have increased by 6.4% in the last year, with the average property now being let for £613 per calendar month. In total, four of the five Scottish regions saw rents increase in the last year.

Only the Glasgow & Clyde region saw prices drop back – falling 5.3% year-on-year. However, growth of 0.3% between September and October suggests this recent spell of price falls may be coming to an end.

The Edinburgh & Lothians regions remain the most expensive in Scotland, with the average price standing at £669 per month.

Agents and Your Move Scotland are urging all landlords and property investors to enquire with their current agent to ensure they will be compliant with the new rules.

Letting agencies must have submitted an application to join the Letting Agent Code of Practice by 30 September 2018. From that point on, it will be a criminal offence to conduct letting agency work if you aren’t on the register. Those breaking the rules could face a ne of up to £50,000 and up to six months imprisonment.

These rules are intended to increase professionalism in the sector and make sure that agents are properly able to handle money received from both tenants and landlords.

Ahead of the code of practice being introduced there will also be changes to new tenancies beginning from December 2017. All tenancies which commence from that point will be open-ended, meaning landlords will not be able to ask a tenant to leave after a fixed period.

This is intended to provide a more stable environment for tenants, but also sets out specific circumstances in which landlords can remove problem tenants from their properties.

Brian Moran, lettings director, Your Move Scotland, said: “As we approach the end of the year, the Scottish rental market continues to perform strongly when compared with other parts of the UK. With an average return of 4.8%, landlords have been rewarded with good returns throughout 2017.”