Private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 1.2 per cent in the 12 months to December according to the Office for National Statistics. 

This is the lowest annual growth since the ONS measure began in January 2012.

In England, private rental prices grew by 1.3 per cent, Wales saw growth of 1.7 per cent while Scotland saw an increase of 0.4 per cent.

London private rental prices grew by 0.4 per cent – well behind the all-Great Britain level.

“Rents are rising but at a slower rate than before. This is good for both landlords and tenants. Landlords have got some capital growth and will benefit from higher yields but it is also good news for tenants that increases are modest – at least until the proposed ban on tenant fees is introduced” explains Paul Sloan, operations director for Haart.

“Wages are likely to be rising by more than rents and realistically, landlords are unlikely to put up rents on an existing tenancy by one per cent. If they have good tenants, they are likely to wait and increase it by five per cent later down the line, or just increase the amount for any new tenancies” he adds.