Rents fell annually for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, making it more affordable for tenants to now rent, the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) claims.

Analysis of the Deposit Protection Service own database of rentals suggests that average rents in the UK fell by £9, or 1.17%, to £765 per month in 2018.

The biggest annual fall was in Yorkshire & the Humber where average rents fell by 3.63% to £546 a month.

The north-east of England and Northern Ireland ended the year as the most affordable regions with monthly rents at £529 and £544 respectively, while only the south-west (0.21%) and west midlands (0.12%) experienced annual growth.

London continues to have the most expensive average annual rent in the UK, down 2.27%, at £1,294 per month.

Julian Foster, chief operating officer at Computershare Investor Services, which runs the DPS scheme, said: “This first drop in average annual rents for almost ten years is good news for UK renters, especially if wages continue to climb in 2019.”

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