Rents in northern England fall

♦ Average rents in northern England have recorded their first annual fall in nearly four years.

In April, the cost of a new let across the North West, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber regions fell by 0.3 per cent compared with a year earlier, the Hamptons International Monthly Lettings Index said. It was the first year-on-year fall since June 2014.

The average monthly rent across the northern regions in April was £622.

By contrast, average new lets in southern England were up by 2.2 per cent year-on-year, reaching £1,372 per month on average. Across Britain, average rents rose 1.9 per cent year-on-year in April to reach £953 per month.