Landlords in England and Wales have seen the average residential rent hit a new record of £800, according to a buy to let index.
The data comes from Your Move and Reeds Rains who say that rents are growing at their fastest since 2009 when they began keeping records.
The same data also reveals that rents in Scotland have plateaued but have reached a record of £549 per month.
The new rental record in England was made in July with rents peaking in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and London with the biggest average yearly rise being recorded of 6.8%.
Between June and July, rents rose by 1.9% in England and Wales from £789 to £804.
Rents are setting records
A director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, Adrian Gill, said: “Rents are setting records on monthly and yearly timeframes and the market is accelerating into a high gear.
“This boils down to supply and demand and a concerted effort in building new properties would be a sensible way of addressing the issue.”
He added that demand is currently outstripping supply in both the sales and rental markets which is forcing up rents faster than house prices.
The data from the estate agency reveals that of the 10 regions monitored in England and Wales, four experienced record peaks: they were in Yorkshire and Humber, West and East Midlands, and London.
Rents in West Midlands rose by 3.6% over the year with an average rent now costing £583 a month whereas tenants in the East Midlands now pay £584, a 2.5% increase.
Rents grow in Yorkshire and East of England
Rents in Yorkshire grew by 2% to £582 on average and in the East of England they rose by 12% in the past year to £838.
However, the biggest rise was recorded in London with rents growing by 12.1%.
In the north-west, rents grew by 1.4% and in the south-east by 3.3%. Landlords in the north-east saw rents grow by 1.3%.
Landlords have also benefited with growing gross yields which have risen to 5.2% in July, the largest rise since March.
The data also reveals that annual returns have fallen with those in England returning 8.7% in the year to July. Previously, annual returns were 10% in the year to June.
The average landlord is seeing an annual return of £15,632
In monetary terms, the average landlord is seeing an annual return of £15,632 before deductions for mortgage payments and maintenance costs.The figure consists of capital gains of £7,188 and rent of £8,444.
Landlords in Scotland are seeing growth cooling in urban areas and there's been a downturn in annual growth.
However, rents in Scotland are now up 2.8% over the past year.
Rents in Scotland plateau at record high
A director of Your Move Scotland, Brian Moran, explained: “Time will tell whether we've reached a fork in the private rental sector’s road or whether growth in rents will ramp up in the autumn.”
He highlighted that there is a shortage of rental properties in Scotland which may fuel further rent increases though tenants are looking for cheaper properties further afield too.
