Rental growth in England, excluding London, was just 1.18 per cent over the last year, the slowest annual rate since April 2013.

The data comes from lender Landbay which says the average rent paid in England outside of London is now £769, and £1,234 if you include London.

Since 2013 annual rental growth peaked in November 2015 when it was at 2.63 per cent says the lender, though this has gradually slowed each month since to return to 1.18 per cent. 

Rents in the East of England have seen the most considerable growth during this time, growing by 14.67 per cent, closely followed by the East Midlands where rents have increased by 12.83 per cent. 

The North East has seen the smallest amount of growth, with rents rising by just 1.90 per cent over the same period.

Annual rental growth in London has been below zero for 17 consecutive months, although this has been trending back towards zero since July 2017, dropping by only -0.08 per cent in the year to May. 

But Landbay says London rents have still risen by 6.88 per cent over the past five years and, with 17 out of the 33 London Boroughs now in positive territory, looks set to make a recovery to positive growth in the coming months.

“Landlords have been faced with a number of challenges over the past two years, from stricter regulation, reductions to tax relief, and a significant stamp duty tax hike when buying a buy to let property. Some might have expected this pressure to push up rents, though low interest rates and the Bank of England’s Term Funding Scheme have kept the cost of borrowing down and allowed landlords to shoulder some of the costs” explains John Goodall, chief executive of Landbay. 

“With a rate rise being just around the corner, and the TFS now having ended, things could be about to change. While we are unlikely to see an immediate impact, the pace of rental growth may well speed up in the latter half of this year as landlords look to price in the changes that have been building up for some time.”