The cost of renting a property saw an increase of 2.1% in the UK during September, according to HomeLet, specialists in tenant referencing. However, in the North West there was a drop of 0.9% in this month, although the annual variation has seen an increase of 2%.

It is thought that whilst it may be too early to conclude, it is likely this increase signals an upward trend in rents due to the anticipated increase in costs for landlords.

Many landlords are now faced with a significant increase in costs bought about by new regulation, taxation changes on buy-to-let mortgages and possible increases in interest rates.