Rents See First Ever Rise In January

The rental market has witnessed an "unseasonal rise" in rents, according to the latest Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services plc. In January, the average rent in England and Wales increased by 0.1% to £712 per month. It is the first time that rents have risen in January since LSL began compiling the index. As a result, annual rental inflation increased to 4.3% from 4% in December - representing a £30 rise in the average monthly rent in the past year. Rents rose the fastest on a monthly basis in the West Midlands and the South West, where they increased by 1.8% and 1.5% respectively. Rents rose by 0.8% in London, where they have only fallen once in the past 13 months. In the meantime, rental arrears also remained high in January, with 10.7% of all rent late or unpaid at the end of the month. Read more on the LSL website.