Sweet relief: London rents fell in October
London rents fell in October, as the capital bucked the trend for the rest of the country.
Rents in London fell 0.11 per cent, according to Landbay, but for the rest of England, rents increased by 0.15 per cent.
London's most expensive boroughs have had the biggest falls in rent. In Westminster, rents were down by 1.86 per cent, and in Kensington and Chelsea, rents fell 1.81 per cent.
John Goodall, chief executive and co-founder of Landbay, said: "Rental growth is slowing across the UK, but the pace of change varies wildly between regions.
"Falling rents in some of the most expensive parts of the country, especially prime London locations, can distort the picture for the rest of England and the UK where rents are continuing to grow at a steady pace.
"[Prime London areas] are typically very expensive places to rent, and so there is some element of people looking for value and moving out to look for places that are significantly cheaper."
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Data from Hamptons International released this summer showed that the number of tenants in prime central London properties has fallen by eight per cent since May 2013, a drop that has been motivated by a fall in the number of rich Europeans looking for residences in the capital.
In the more affordable parts of London, rents are rising robustly, however. In Bexley, rents increased by 3.12 per cent in October, and in Barking and Dagenham, rents were up by 3.02 per cent. Rental growth was ahead of the UK average of 1.49 per cent in 14 London boroughs.
The biggest falls in rents in the UK were in Scotland. In Aberdeen, rents fell by 13.22 per cent, as the city was hit by the plunge in the price of oil since 2014.