The latest lettings market snapshot from HomeLet suggests another record average UK monthly rent level of £1,064 pcm – up a marginal 0.4 per cent on the December figure.

When London is excluded the average rent in the UK is now £897, up 0.4 per cent on December. 

Average rents in London were £1,760, an increase of 0.5 per cent on December, and up 12.6 per cent on December 2020. 

Eight of the 12 UK regions recorded by HomeLet showed a rise last month, with Northern Ireland, Wales, Yorkshire & Humberside and the North East the only regions to fall. 

North West England saw the biggest monthly rise of 1.3 per cent.

Andy Halstead, chief executive of  HomeLet  and Let Alliance, says: “As expected, 2022 has started as 2021 ended, with an imbalance between supply and demand, and inevitably that has brought on price rises, that will likely continue in the coming months. 

“There are some caveats, though. Though we have seen another record high rental price this month, we must consider inflation rates, a topic that has been discussed heavily in the past couple of weeks. 

“Based on the latest inflation figures, the month-on-month rent increases have been lower than the wider inflation rate, indicating a level of steady growth. 

“The private rental sector has played a key role in the UK throughout the pandemic, and we hope that the government will make things easier for landlords in 2022, to allow them to continue playing a key role in the coming months and years.”