Gutting: This is how the cost of renting in London compares to the UK

Tenants, look away now

And it is gutting – unless, that is, you happen to be a landlord. In which case you’re laughing all the way to the luxury resort in Barbados.

For renting a home in London costs more than double the average rent in the rest of the UK.

Average rents in Greater London for January were £1,425 a month, according to the January 2015 Homelet Rental Index, the most comprehensive and up to date data on new tenancies in the UK.

That compares with a £707 average for the UK excluding Greater London (or £889 including it).

The next-most expensive region is the South East, at £873 on average a month, then the South West, at £830.

If you’re looking for more affordable accommodation, head to the North East, where the £518 monthly rent is the country’s cheapest, followed by Northern Ireland at £556.

A slowdown in London?

Greater London rents have grown the fastest over the past year – up 13.4% – but the region didn’t actually see the greatest increases in prices in January.

Greater London rents only increased by 2.3% in January.

That was slower than the East Midlands (6.2%), Scotland (5.7%), East Anglia (5%), the South West (3.5%), Yorkshire & Humber (3.2%).

Another sign of a slowdown in the London property market, or just a monthly blip? We’ll have to see how the rest of 2015 plays out to judge.