Property rents falling in London, but still rising in the West Midlands

Nationwide property rents were down by a tiny 0.01 per cent in November, compared to last year, but that was driven by 0.8 per cent falls in London, where average monthly rents are £1,870.94.

Everywhere else they are still rising. In the West Midlands the last year has seen a 1.52 per cent rise to an average of £682.80 a month.

These are the findings of the National Rent Review from buy-to-let lender Landbay, aided by the Mortgage Industry Advisory Corporation (MIAC).

And it shows that Millennials renting a property outside London from the age of 21 will on average spend £110,800 on rent by the time they buy a house at the average age of 32.

But 40 per cent don't believe they will ever be able to afford a house and face a £1.1 million bill as lifetime renters.

John Goodall, CEO and founder of Landbay said: “Landlords have faced up to challenge after challenge over the past two years, from stricter regulation, reductions to tax relief, and a significant stamp duty tax hike when buying a buy to let property.

"One would expect this pressure to push up rents, but two key factors have allowed them to shoulder these rapidly rising costs: the Bank of England’s enduring Term Funding Scheme (TFS), which has injected a significant sum of cheap capital into banks, together with record low interest rates, which have also kept borrowing costs low.

“With interest rates now rising, and the TFS coming to an end in February, we expect upward rental pressure to be just around the corner.

"Without a radical house building plan for purchase as well as purpose-built rental properties, rental prices are in danger of soaring over the coming decades.”

Mr Goodall added: “While younger people have always been overrepresented in the private rented sector, over the last decade there has been a marked increase in the proportion of younger households relying on the buy to let market.

"The Government is giving off strong signals that it is ready to tackle the supply shortages gripping the nation, while also improving standards, affordability and the institutional supply of rental properties in particular.

"This can only be good news if it becomes reality, but with so many of the issues being systemic, only time will tell if these measures will have the desired effect.”