Annual rental inflation increased to 4.3% in January from 4% December.
Rents rose the fastest on a monthly basis in West Midlands and South West where they increased by 1.8% and 1.5% respectively. Rents rose by 0.8% in London where they have only fallen once in the past 13 months.
However rents fell in four regions. The biggest declines were in the East of England and Wales where they fell by 1.7% and 1.5% respectively.
In the past 12 months rents have risen in all regions of England and Wales but one. The largest annual increases were in London where rents rose by 6.3%.
The next biggest increase was in the East of England where rents rose by 5.9%. Rents fell in the North East by 0.7% although the rate of annual decline slowed from 1.3% in December.
David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said: “The rental market burst back into life unseasonably early in January with tenants on the move trying to take advantage of what is usually a quieter period for the rental market.
“The depth of the underlying demand sustained a higher level of competition for rental property during the Christmas period preventing more severe falls in rents than we’d normally see during the period.
“In January activity has already moved up a gear in many parts of the UK pushing rents up once more in a small but significant rise.
“Mortgage lending has shown signs of improving in recent months, but transactions remain at almost half their historic levels and the increasing dependency on rental accommodation will drive further rent rises over the long-term.”
