The average rent for a UK property grew by 0.05% in October 2016, slowing from 0.09% in September 2016 as falling rents in London (-0.11%) weighed down otherwise resilient rental growth in the rest of England (0.15%) and UK (0.14%), according to the latest Landbay Rental Index.  

The overall fall in London rents masks a tale of two cities. While four London boroughs feature in the UK’s bottom ten ‘rental fallers’ over the past year, Westminster (-1.86%), Kensington and Chelsea (-1.81%), Richmond upon Thames (-0.99%) and Camden (-0.93%), only seven of the 33 London boroughs have seen rental growth turn negative year on year. Indeed Bexley (3.12%), and Barking and Dagenham (3.02%), have both seen rents rise by more than 3%, with 14 boroughs exhibiting growth ahead of the UK average of 1.49%.

Hotspots for rental growth over the last 12 months include Luton (7.11%), Edinburgh City (5.63%) and Northamptonshire (5.59%), with nine of the top ten ‘rental risers’ situated in England. Luton Borough Council unveiled a £1.5bn, 20-year development plan in April, which is set to include a £200m metro system servicing the airport, eight Enterprise Zones, and a £110m airport terminal improvement, improving prospects for rental properties in the area.