A recovery in tenant demand saw average rents in England and Wales hit £904 last month, Your Move claims.

Richard Waind, director of Your Move, said an increase in tenant enquiries, up by a quarter in London alone, had pushed rents up from £874 across England and Wales.

Waind said: “Following a drop off in new tenant enquiries after the Brexit vote last year and a resulting decrease in EU migration figures, we have started to see a resurgence in tenants coming to the market in recent months, particularly in London.

“Figures are returning to the levels that we would expect around this time of year, with August and September being the busiest months for lettings as students, graduates and families working in the education sector look for new properties.

“This recovery in tenant enquiries, combined with continued subdued supply of new listings in the wake of recent tax changes affecting landlords, has been a key reason for price increases in the last year and could push rents up further in the coming months.”

The data comes from the latest Your Move House Price Index, which shows tenants in the East England and the North West have seen average increases of 3.2% in the past 12 months to £876 and £631 a month respectively.

The South East was close with rents growing by 3% year-on-year to stand at £882 per month in August.

The South West was the only region to see a price fall in the last year, with the average rent 2.7% lower than a year ago at £667.

Rents in the North East remain the lowest in this survey at £540 a month, while London continues to be the region with the highest average rent as £1,282 per month.
North of the border, the Your Move Scotland Buy to Let Index showed typical rents stand sat £579, up 0.7% on July, while Glasgow and Clyde was the only region to post a year-on-year fall to £550 per month.

Brian Moran, lettings director of Your Move Scotland, said agents need to prepare for a new register coming in next year.

He said: “It’s crucial that all landlords in Scotland start to prepare for the changes on the horizon such as the Letting Agent Code of Practice which is due to commence in early 2018.

“Landlords should be talking with their agents now to make sure they are prepared for the changes and understand what it means for them, sooner rather than later.”

From January 31 2018, agents in Scotland will be able to declare themselves compliant with this new legislation and join a Register of Letting Agents.

Letting agencies must have submitted an application to join the code of practice by September 30 2018. From that point 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 fine of up to £50,000 and up to six months imprisonment.