UK private rents edged up 6.2% in the year to November, from 6.1% 12 months ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.  

Tenants saw their accommodation costs lift by 6.1% in England, 7.3% in Wales, and 6.2% in Scotland over the period.  

London notched up the highest rent rises at 6.9%, while the North East came in with the lowest at 4.7%.  

Rental costs in capital registered the highest annual percentage rise since the government data body began this series in January 2006.  

The ONS says: “The annual inflation rate of private rental prices in the UK began to increase in the second half of 2021.   

“Annual growth was seen across all regions except London, where prices decreased.   

“The annual percentage change in rents increased across all regions in 2022, including in London, and this has generally continued during 2023.”  

The body also points to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ November Residential Market Survey, which said that tenant demand continued to rise, while landlord instructions continue to fall.    

Rics expects rental prices to rise over the next 12 months.    

Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and a former Rics residential chairman, says: “Unsurprisingly, rents have risen again albeit at a slower pace than previously, principally due to the continuing shortage of stock.  

“However, we have noticed in our offices a reluctance to keep chasing up rents and an affordability ceiling finally having an impact on many tenants.   

“The result is a bit of a stalemate with tenants trying to renew at or close to previous levels and trying to find compromises with landlords struggling in many cases with higher loan repayments.”  

Anna Clare Harper, chief executive of sustainable investment adviser GreenResi, adds: “While average private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 6.2% in the year to November, this underestimates the reality many renters face, in particular the one in four who move each year, as rental price increases for new tenancies are often at least double this figure.  

“The only way to tackle the problems a whole generation, Generation Rent, are facing is to invest in the private rental sector.   

“It is critical that the volume and quality of supply of rental homes improves, which requires professional investors to step in as traditional side-line private landlords exit in droves.”