Rents in Greater London for new tenancies are rising at the slowest rate for almost two years. 

Data from HomeLet shows rents 6.2 per cent higher for the three months to January 2016 compared to the same period in 2015 – the slowest rate of growth seen in Greater London since March 2014. 

Yet although the rate of growth in rent prices in Greater London may have slowed, monthly rents on new tenancies are still more than twice the average for the rest of the UK.

By comparison, rent prices in other regions continue to rise steadily with the South East of England and the East Midlands seeing the highest rent price rises in the three months to January 2016, at 7.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively.

This month’s Index shows 11 out of 12 regions in the UK seeing prices rise in the three months to January 2016, compared to the same period last year, with only the North West of England seeing prices dip by 3.4 per cent from £646 per month to £624 per month.

“In recent years, the capital has seen much faster rates of increase than the rest of the country, but it may be that an affordability ceiling has now been reached in London and that rents will now track other parts of the UK more closely” says Martin Totty, Barbon Insurance Group chief executive.