Landbay’s latest Rental Index has revealed that the average rent for a property in the UK increased by 0.96% in the year to March.

Slow rents in London (0.57%) continued to weigh down on otherwise resilient rental growth in the rest of the UK (1.16%), the report said.

Hotspots for rental growth over the last 12 months include Edinburgh City (5.97%), Nottingham (4.28%), and Blaenau Gwent (3.76%). The high growth areas are spread throughout the UK; of the top 10 ‘rental risers’, two counties are in Scotland, three in Wales, two in the East Midlands region and three in the rest of England.

Across the higher level country data, Scotland has the highest overall annual rental growth at 1.99% while Northern Ireland is growing at just 0.63%.

Scotland has both the fastest and slowest growing locations. Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire are at the bottom of the annual growth league table, with growth of -5.59% and -4.31% respectively. Of the other eight, a further one is in Scotland (Angus at -0.83%) while the other seven are in England. The slowest three areas of rental growth in England are Redcar and Cleveland (-1.48%), Kensington and Chelsea (-0.54%) and Bracknell Forest (-0.24%).

In London, rental growth is picking up again slightly after last year’s slump. Overall annual rental growth sits at 0.57% – this time last year it was falling at -0.28%. In fact, 17 out of 33 London boroughs saw falling rents last March. A year on, only three boroughs continue to fall; Kensington and Chelsea (-0.54%), Merton (-0.17%), and Enfield (-0.08%). Average rent in London now stands at £1,903, a cumulative rental growth of 9.32% since January 2012.

The average rent paid for a property in the UK now stands at £1,217, or £772 if you exclude London. The lowest average rent is found in Northern Ireland (£576), where rents have shown very modest long-term growth. In England, average rent is £1,248. The second highest region (after London) is the South East at £1,064, while lowest average rent stands at £553 in the North East – this region has seen cumulative growth of just 2.08% since January 2012.

John Goodall, CEO and co-founder of Landbay, said: “Despite political and economic turmoil, the British property market has remained resilient. Rents are growing at a steady pace, and that growth is not restricted to specific regions or rental brackets.

“Meanwhile, house prices in England fell for the first time in seven years in the first three months of 2019. This combination is good news for first-time buyers and landlords alike. This period of uncertainty may in fact be the best time for individual certainty – do your research and see whether it’s time to take the first step onto the property ladder (or expand your portfolio).”