Rightmove has revealed that the 10 year average growth in asking rents across London has been 25 per cent, and over the rest of the UK outside of the capital it has been 16 per cent – but with many exceptions to these rules.

Over the past decade the cost of renting a two-bed home in Hackney has risen by 63 per cent to £1,755 per month, making it the area with the biggest increase in asking rents across Great Britain.

Dartford records the highest growth outside London, up by 41 per cent from £751 to £1,063 per month, with the rest of the top ten dominated by other areas of Kent and Hertfordshire, plus Dundee and Edinburgh.

Rightmove also reveals the cheapest places to rent a two-bed home in each region, with areas including Barnsley, Stoke-on-Trent and Kilmarnock all with asking rents of under £500 per month

So far in 2018 asking rents for all property types have risen by 0.9 per cent on average outside London compared to this time last year, and have fallen by 0.1 per cent in the capital.

The top 10 highest growth areas over the past 10 years are all in London, the list being a mixture of relatively more affordable areas like Dagenham and Eltham and areas like Harold Wood and Southall where upcoming Crossrail has pushed up rents.

“Hackney has seen pretty heady increases in both asking rents and house prices in the area over the past 10 years, as it has been transformed from a cheaper location into a more popular and higher-priced address. Its rise has been enhanced by the 2012 Olympics effect and improvements to transport links, with rents peaking in the second quarter of 2016 and plateauing in recent years” says Rightmove’s housing market analyst Miles Shipside.

“The growth in these areas compares with places like Barnes, Chelsea and Canary Wharf which seem to have topped out long ago as rents are pretty much the same as they were 10 years ago.”

So far in 2018 asking rents outside London have fallen by 0.2 per cent when compared to the final quarter of 2017. Annually, the strongest performing region is the East Midlands, where asking rents are up 2.6 per cent; this compares to a national average annual change outside London of 0.9 per cent.

“A look at the first few months of this year shows the usual seasonal trend of asking rents falling slightly compared to the last quarter of last year, but we’re likely see a rise again next quarter. London asking rents remain flat compared to this time last year, a sign that we are highly unlikely to see the same big increases over the next 10 years that we’ve seen in some areas in the capital over the previous ten years” says Shipside.

Top 10 highest asking rent growth areas in London, 2008-2018

Hackney (up 63 per cent)

Hammersmith (59 per cent)

Rainham (58 per cent)

Southall (57 per cent)

Hillingdon (55 per cent)

Hayes (55 per cent)

Dagenham (54 per cent)

Walthamstow (52 per cent)

Harold Wood (52 per cent)

Eltham (52 per cent)

Top 10 highest asking rent growth areas outside London, 2008-2018

Dartford (up 41 per cent)

Dundee (40 per cent)

Bury St Edmunds (39 per cent)

Edinburgh (39 per cent)

Gillingham (39 per cent)

Sevenoaks (38 per cent)

Chatham (38 per cent)

Waltham Cross (37 per cent)

Bicester (37 per cent)

Hemel Hempstead (37 per cent)

Cheapest rental areas in each region

Barnsley – Yorkshire & the Humber – £448 average per calendar month

Burnley – North West – £421

South Shields – North East – £456

Stoke-On-Trent – West Midlands – £464

Alfreton – East Midlands – £475

Kilmarnock – Scotland – £472

Swansea – Wales – £556

Bridgwater – South West – £612

Margate – South East – £665

Great Yarmouth – East of England – £544

Erith – London – £1,072