Rents across the UK continued to rise during May, but the rate of increase has slowed somewhat in recent months, the May HomeLet Rental Index reveals.

The index reveals that rents agreed on new tenancies across the UK over the three months to the end of May were up by 4.4%, compared to the same period in 2015. That compares to an annual increase of 5.1% in April and 7.6% in May last year.

The May data from the HomeLet Rental Index will provide some encouragement for landlords though as the data suggests landlords continue to enjoy healthy rental yields after costs.

The slowing of the pace of rent rises in May is broadly in line with a similar cooling in the rate at which house prices are rising – and may be part of a broader story about economic uncertainty ahead of this month’s referendum on the UK’ s membership of the European Union.

Nevertheless, the May 2016 HomeLet Rental Index reveals that rents continue to rise in almost every area of the country, with 11 out of the 12 regions surveyed seeing an increase over the three months to the end of May.