New research from HomeLet reveals that Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle recorded the largest increase in rents last year amongst the UK’s major towns and cities. 

HomeLet’s annual review of the rental market shows that rents on new tenancies signed last year in Brighton and Bristol were, on average, 18 per cent higher than on new tenancies agreed in 2014, while rents were up by 16 per cent in both Edinburgh and Newcastle. 

London and Liverpool also fall into the top rental hotspots for 2015, both with increases of 11 per cent.

Meanwhile the monthly HomeLet Rental Index shows that, on average, rents across the UK outside of Greater London were 4.9 per cent higher on new tenancies signed during the final three months of the year than in same period of 2014. 

The average monthly rent outside of the capital now stands at £739. The monthly index shows the London market up by 8.0 per cent on the final three months of 2014 to an average of £1,523.

On new tenancies agreed over the three months to December 2015, rent prices fell in eight out of 12 regions of the UK when measured against the three months to the end of November.

The West Midlands and Wales (up 1.0 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively) saw the biggest increases, while Scotland and Northern Ireland (down 2.8 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively) saw the biggest falls.

On an annual basis, the monthly HomeLet Rental Index shows that rents rose in 10 out of 12 areas, led by London, where rents on new tenancies signed during the final three months of the year were 8.0 per cent higher than in the same period of 2014.

The North west of England, where rents were down 5.1 per cent compared to 2014, and Northern Ireland (down 0.6 per cent) were the exceptions.