The average rent in the UK reached £919 in May, up by 2% on the same time last year, according to Homelet’s Rental Index.

Average rents in London, in particular, are currently £1,586, a 5.6% increase on last year – the highest regional year-on-year growth recorded for the month. Excluding the capital, the average rent in the UK is now £763, up by 1.3% on May 2017.

The insurance firm references up to 500,000 tenants every year, with its rental index providing fresh data on UK rental values.

The Index includes trends on brand new tenancies, which were arranged in the most recent period, providing a thorough insight into the lettings markets.

It revealed the North East as the region with the largest month-on-month increase, showing a 1.9% difference between April 2018 and May 2018.

What’s more, while 11 of 12 regions experienced a year-on-year increase in rental prices, Greater London, Scotland, the West Midlands, the East Midlands and the South West all saw rents fall from April 2018 to May 2018.