Rents in the UK rose by an annualised average of 1.7% during December, new data from HomeLet reveals, as the private rental market ended 2017 with rental price inflation moving marginally higher.

The average rent agreed on a new tenancy signed in December was £907 according to the December HomeLet Rental Index, compared to £892 in the same month of last year. Rental price inflation was much more stable over the course of 2017; by contrast, rents in 2016 regularly rose at an annual rate of more than 4% in the first half of the year, before rental price inflation dropped back in the second half.

The data for December 2017 also means it is likely that rents rose at a slower rate than general inflation in every month of last year, with inflation on the consumer price index measure running at 3.1% in November, the most recent period for which official statistics are available.

The East Midlands recorded the highest rate of rental price inflation last month, with rents that were, on average, 4.6% higher in December 2017 than in the same month of 2016.