London rents surge 11.6% in September, survey reveals

London rents surged 11.6% in the year to September to an average of £1,301 a month, according to a survey released on Friday.

The survey by letting agents Your Move and Reeds Rains showed the average rent in England and Wales grew 6.3% to £816 a month, driven by increases in London and the East of England (up 8.8%).

The jump in rent comes as recent surveys have indicated property values increased between 3.8% and 8.6% over the same period in the UK.

“Rents are rising strongly in real terms due to the recent acceleration in wages, and the much deeper and longer-term shortage of available properties across the UK – of all tenures,” said Adrian Gill, director of Reed Rains and Your Move.

“As long as this supply and demand imbalance keeps up, it is hard to see any reversal in the speed of rent rises. When rents hit a fresh record, it is more likely to happen at this time of year. Yet in 2015 that seasonal trend has been blown out of the water by an unprecedented acceleration.”

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed private rental prices paid in Britain were up 2.5% in the 12 months to June.