The average rent price increased by 8.7% throughout the UK on an annual basis in March, shows new data from HomeLet.

This gives an average rent price of £1,078 per month – a 0.8% increase on February.

Excluding London, the yearly rise comes to 7.4% and the average rent bill to £910 a month.

On a regional basis, the biggest yearly rise took place in Scotland, at 12.9%, HomeLet says, where the average rent is now £770 a month.

This was followed by Greater London, at 11.6% and £1,770, respectively, and the North West, at 10.5% and £871, respectively.

The East Midlands saw the lowest annual rise occur in March, although this still came to 4.3% and left the average monthly rent in the area at £749.

HomeLet says its figures are based on actual rents achieved rather than just those that are advertised.

HomeLet & Let Alliance chief executive officer Andy Halstead says: “Demand will continue to outstrip supply, and when that is the case, rent prices will surely continue to grow.

“Issues surrounding the cost of living and energy prices have been widely reported in recent weeks, and it will be in absolutely no one’s interest if a lack of supply means that rental properties continue to be so hard to come by for consumers. The country is reliant on a strong rental market, a fact that was underlined again and again throughout the peak of the pandemic.”