Average advertised rents for tenants outside London have risen to an unprecedented £1,316 per calendar month, Rightmove's latest market data has revealed.

The data reveals a 7% increase in average advertised rents outside London compared to the same period last year.

Although the pace of rent growth has eased from its peak of 12% two years ago, it still remains significantly higher than the pre-pandemic norm of about 2% per year.

In London, the scene is even more dramatic with average advertised rents hitting £2,652 per calendar month.

Rightmove’s analysis points out that an additional 120,000 rental properties are required to achieve a more sustainable 2% annual rent growth.

One of the main factors driving the rapid increase in advertised rents since the pandemic has been the imbalance between supply and demand from tenants seeking homes.

Scotland has been the most severely impacted by supply and demand imbalances, while London has been the least affected.

A better balance between supply and demand in London has helped slow rental price growth.

In the years 2022 and 2023, London experienced the joint largest yearly rent increases, due to a significant widening of the supply-demand gap during the pandemic.

A 15% decrease in the number of tenants looking to move in London, coupled with a 16% increase in the number of available rental properties, means London has seen the most significant improvement in supply and demand compared to this time last year.

Rightmove has urged the next Government to streamline the planning process, speed up housebuilding, and incentivize landlords to invest in more homes for tenants, aiming to correct the supply-demand imbalance and ensure sustainable rental price growth.

Tim Bannister, a property expert at Rightmove, commented: “We’ve been talking about the imbalance between supply and demand in the rental market for a long time now, so it’s easy to forget that there was a time before the pandemic where rental price growth was more stable.

“Double-digit yearly rent increases were not sustainable, and, whilst there has been some improvement in the ratio between supply and demand, price growth at +7% suggest we are still out of balance.

“In fact, our analysis shows we would need 120,000 more properties on the rental market to achieve a more sustainable level of rent growth of around 2% per year.

“The next Government should be prioritising an improvement to the planning process, an acceleration of housebuilding, and encouraging more supply into the rental market.”

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, added: “Propertymark has long argued that the private rental sector needs more houses to stabilise rental prices, but there is a myriad of other factors that can contribute towards making the market more attractive for both investors and tenants.

“With a general election coming this week, Propertymark would like to see the next government reform the tax system so that more investors can be persuaded to invest in the private rental sector and lower rents for tenants in the long-term.

“Whilst we support a greater supply of houses, there has to be a sensible deliverable programme mindful of protecting the green belt wherever possible.

“It would also be wise for them to avoid rent controls which have had a devastating effect on the private rental sector in Scotland.”