Average UK rents rose at less than half the rate last year than the year before, says one of the deposit protection services.
It says that for the first time since 2013, rental inflation last year was lower than the rate of inflation, while incomes grew slightly faster than rents.
In London, the slowdown was particularly pronounced, with rents rising last year by just 0.44%, equating to an average increase of £5.83 in the whole of last year.
The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) says average UK rents rose by 1.65% last year, compared with growth of 3.25% in 2016.
The average UK rent finished last year at £773.74 – but the average includes many different local markets across England, including London, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Excluding London, the average monthly rent grew 2.1% to £675.82, up from £661.80 in 2016.
Growth outside London in 2016 was higher at 3.4%.
DPS managing director Julian Foster said: “Rent growth was slower in 2017 than 2016 and when compared to inflation and wages, suggesting that general economic uncertainty is affecting the private rental sector particularly.
“London’s growth was particularly sluggish, bringing down the national average further, although rents here and outside the capital remain a large proportion of wages.
“The current slowdown in fact began in mid-2016 and is likely to be linked to the EU referendum result. It will be interesting to watch as the UK Government’s negotiations and other economic influences progress during this year.”
However, rents still look expensive, representing almost 33% of average salary across the UK, and 43% in London.
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