YORKSHIRE rent prices among fastest rising in the country – now 4.5 per cent higher than start of the year.

The average rental price in Yorkshire & Humberside is now £670, and in 2020 rent prices in Yorkshire have climbed faster than anywhere in the country except the North West, rising by 1.8 per cent in July alone.

The HomeLet Rental Index, which has been cited as a source of evidence for the private rental sector by the ONS, also shows.

The average rent in the UK is now £965, up by 1.5 per cent on last month.

Ten of the 12 regions monitored by HomeLet 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 per cent.

However, rents in London are down YOY, showing a 3.2 per cent 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.

All of the 12 regions monitored showed an increase in rental values between June 2020 and July 2020, with Northern Ireland seeing the biggest increase of 2.3 per cent.

The region with the largest year-on-year rent value increase was found to be the North West, showing a 6.5 per cent increase 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 12 regions monitored compared to June - although the data does indicate a downward trend emerging YOY for those in the South East and Greater London.

“Demand for new tenancies is still strong, HomeLet received the same volume of property applications for tenant reference checks this month as the same month last year.

"That coupled with the steadily increasing rents is positive for the sector, but there’s naturally caution around what could happen over the coming months.