The July 2020 HomeLet Rental Index has revealed that the average rent in the UK is now £965, up by 1.5% on last month. When London is excluded, the average rent in the UK is now £808, which is up by 1.8% on last year.

Of the 12 regions monitored by HomeLet, 10 showed an increase in rental values between July 2019 and July 2020, with two of those regions seeing an increase of more than 4.5%. However, rents in London are down y-o-y, showing a 3.2% fall between July 2019 and July 2020, the third decrease in annual variance in subsequent months and the biggest decrease since at least June 2015. The South East also shows a yearly decrease, with a 1.8% fall between July 2019 and July 2020.

Martin Totty, chief executive at HomeLet, said: “July appeared to be yet another encouraging month for lettings - with a rise in rental prices across all of the twelve regions monitored compared to June - although the data does indicate a downward trend emerging for those in the South East and Greater London.