New London rents are now running at just half the growth rate of the rest of the UK, the HomeLet Rental Index has revealed.

Average rents on new tenancies in the capital rose 1.6% year-on-year in November to £1,521, behind the 3.1% growth in the UK at £898.

It is the first HomeLet Rental Index released since the lettings fee ban was mentioned by the Chancellor.

Chief executive Martin Totty warned: “If tenants eventually are no longer liable for up-front charges incurred by agents, landlords will want to be even more certain tenants who put themselves forwards as prospective renters are thoroughly vetted and referenced since there would then be no financial ‘commitment’ from the renter when making their application.”

The figures show London rents are still significantly higher than anywhere else, but the growth is well below the 6.2% peak seen in March.

The biggest increase on new tenancies was in Northern Ireland where rents were up 4.8% to £592, while the South East recorded growth of 4.7% to £1,009.

Totty said: “November’s figures reflect a continuation of trends which the HomeLet Rental Index has been tracking for several months. While landlords have been able to edge rents up, the amount of the increase been slowing for a number of months, which suggests landlords understand that tenants have, or are, reaching an affordability ceiling, particularly given the uncertain economic climate.

“It is difficult to think of a period when there have been so many external interventions in the private rental sector as yet seen during 2016; the impact of many of the changes are yet to be worked through and it’s unclear yet who will emerge as the ‘winners and the losers’.”

How did your region fare?

Region	Average rent in November 2016	Average rent in October 2016	Average rent in November 2015	Monthly variation	Annual variation
Northern Ireland	£592	£592	£565	-0.1%	4.8%
South East	£1,009	£999	£964	1.0%	4.7%
North West	£678	£676	£648	0.2%	4.5%
Scotland	£610	£606	£584	0.7%	4.4%
West Midlands	£662	£663	£634	-0.1%	4.3%
East of England	£901	£904	£874	-0.3%	3.1%
North East	£524	£525	£510	-0.3%	2.8%
South West	£786	£787	£767	-0.1%	2.5%
Wales	£604	£609	£590	-0.8%	2.4%
Yorkshire & Humberside	£620	£619	£605	0.2%	2.4%
East Midlands	£596	£601	£587	-0.8%	1.6%
Greater London	£1,521	£1,542	£1,497	-1.3%	1.6%
UK	£898	£902	£872	-0.4%	3.1%
UK excluding Greater London	£749	£749	£725	0.0%	3.4%
Notes:	Based on new tenancies in November 2016	Based on new tenancies in October 2016	Based on new tenancies in November 2015	Comparison of average rent in November 2016 and October 2016	Comparison of average rent in November 2016 and November 2015