The Office for National Statistics claims rents across England rose by 6.1 per cent in 2023 and is the highest recorded annual increase.

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Wales has the highest increase in the UK with an annual rent increase of 7.1 per cent, Scotland with 6.2 per cent , whilst London rents shot up by 6.8 per cent in 2023.

Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at an estate and lettings agency, says: “Low supply continues to cause financial pain for tenants as it keeps strong upwards pressure on rents.

Landlords have been disincentivised by tax and legislative changes in recent years and there is no sign of that changing, particularly as the general election campaign gets underway this year.

“Political interference has had the unintended consequence of making life tougher for tenants although we expect UK rental value growth to calm down marginally to 5.0 per cent this year as more demand is absorbed.”

Another agency’s spokesperson Jeremy Leaf, adds: “For aspiring first-time buyers the sad news is that average rents are still rising, making deposit saving even more difficult, and it’s also making life harder for longer-term tenants too.

"The usual suspects are at work here – shortage of stock, partly caused by landlords leaving the sector in response to worries over the tax and regulatory regime, while at the same time demand seems unstoppable.