Average newly agreed rents climbed to £918 a month in April, up 1.5% from the £904 a month recorded in April last year, says UK tenant referencing firm Homelet.

Excluding London, the average rent in the UK market stood at £761, up 0.9% on last year.

In London there was the largest increase with the average new rent rising 4.5% from £1,519 to £1,588 compared with March. This increase means that rents in London are now 108.6% higher than in the rest of the UK.

Within Greater London, Haringey & Islington had the largest percentage increase in rents between April 2017 and April 2018, rising 16.7%, followed by Croydon (+12.3%) and Hackney & Newham (+11.9%).

There were three London boroughs where there was a decline in rents during the period, with the Kingston upon Thames, Merton & Sutton area falling -0.7%, followed by Enfield (-0.6%) and Camden and the City of London (-0.3%).

Greater London also saw the highest increase in the household rent to income ratio, with a 3.9% increase between April 2017 and April 2018, ahead of the south-east (up 2.8%) and the south-west (up 2.2%). The average increase in the rent to income ratio, nationally, was 2.1% during the same period.

Across the country, just two areas saw a reduction in the rent to income ratio, with rents in the north-east and Yorkshire & Humber regions becoming marginally more affordable, down -0.3% and -0.1% respectively.

Wales was the only region  to see a reduction in new rents between April 2017 and April this year, with the average rent falling from £610 last year to £597 this year.

The number of individuals who rent privately is now at a 30-year high, according to figures from the English Housing Survey.