The Hamptons Lettings Index found that there was a 7.8% rise, up £72 a month, compared with average rents at the same time last year. 

Including London, average monthly rents are now 26% higher than just before the Covid-19 pandemic in February 2020. 

Hamptons said average monthly rents were more than £1,000 in three of the 10 regions outside London, including – the East, South West and South East. 

Across the whole of Great Britain, rents went up by 11.1% annually in April to a new high of £1,249 per month. 

This was the second steepest monthly rise on record, falling slightly behind May 2022 when growth was 11.5% annually. 

Rents across Great Britain have increased by 25 per cent since the start of the pandemic, which has added an extra £2,962 in rental costs for the average tenant each year. 

Regional growth 

London recorded the highest annual rental growth in April, with new lets up by 17.2%, reaching £2,210 per month. It is the first time average rents in the city have breached £2,200 a month. 

Compared to average rents last year, a tenant moving into a newly let home could face £3,895 a year in additional costs. 

The average rent in inner London rose to £3,138, which was 24.9% higher than last year or £625 more each month. 

Rents in outer London increased by 15.1% annually to £2,034. 

Despite having the highest monthly rent costs in the recorded regions, rental growth in London since the pandemic has been slower than the rest of Great Britain. In inner London, average rents have risen 21%, while outer London has seen a 22% growth. By comparison, regions including the South West, North West and North East have recorded rises of 31% over the same timeframe. 

In April, monthly rents reached record highs in seven out of 11 regions. 

Tenants face a stark choice

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said: “It was back in July 2020 that the average rent across the whole of Great Britain (including London) last passed the £1,000 pcm mark. But just 34 months later, soaring rents since Covid have meant that the average rent in the regions outside of London has passed that same milestone. While rents nationally saw their second biggest annual rise in April, they’ve still failed to keep pace with wider inflation for nine of the last 12 months.  

“With rents on the open market rising quickly, tenants will face the choice of staying put or moving to a smaller home in a more affordable area. While anyone choosing to sit tight tends to face smaller rental increases than those moving home, they are not immune. Affordability constraints will likely hit the brakes on rental growth at some point this year, however, it’s unlikely to slow considerably due to the number of landlords looking to pass on their rising costs.”