The latest lettings market snapshot by insurance firm HomeLet says the average rent across the UK is now £953, up 2.7 per cent on this time last year.

When London is excluded, the average rent in the UK is now £788, this is up by 2.6 per cent on last year.

Meanwhile average rents in London are now £1,665, up by 2.8 per cent.

All 12 of the regions monitored by HomeLet showed an increase in rental values between October 2018 and October this year and five of the regions enjoyed an annual increase of over 3.0 per cent – the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, the South West and Scotland.

The region with the largest year-on-year increase is the North East, showing a 4.5 per cent boost.