Rents across England and Wales fell by an average of 0.9 per cent in November taking the average to £799 a month, according to latest buy-to-let index from Your Move and Reeds Rains.

Average rents are now £17 per month below September’s all-time record high of £816pcm, reflecting a slight drop in demand from tenants seeking rental accommodation.

A breakdown of the data reveals that six out of 10 regions monitored saw rents decline on a monthly basis, led by southern regions. The South East saw rents drop by 3 per cent month-on-month and they were down 2 per cent in the South West and 1.2 per cent in London.

By contrast, Wales witnessed a 2.9 per cent rise in rents. They also rose by 1 per cent in the East Midlands, the West Midlands saw a 0.4 per cent increase and Yorkshire and the Humber a 0.2 per cent hike.

But despite the recent fall, on average, rents have increased significantly over the past 12 months, up 4 per cent compared to November 2014, led by gains in London where rents are up 8.9 per cent year-on-year.

Rents in East of England rose by 8.4 per cent. They are also up 5.1 per cent in the East Midlands. By contrast, Wales has seen rents fall 3.8 per cent year-on-year and the South East is down 3.5 per cent.

While rents are currently slowing, they are widely expected to increase in 2016, owed in part to the new 3 per cent stamp duty which will become payable on buy-to-let properties from April 2016 as this charge gets passed on to tenants.

“Most likely this (stamp duty increase) will push rents higher still and indicates an earlier spring for rent rises in 2016,” said Adrian Gill (left), Director of Reeds Rains and Your Move.

The index also revealed that the gross yield on a typical rental property in England and Wales, before taking into account factors such as void periods, dropped to 5 per cent in November, down from 5.1 per cent in October 2015. This is also higher than the 5.1 per cent gross yield recorded in November 2014.

Taking into account both rental income and ]capital growth, the average landlord in England and Wales has seen total returns of 10.9 per cent over the 12 months ending November 2015, up from 10.4 per cent in October 2015, thanks mainly to a rise in property prices.

In absolute terms this means that the average landlord in England and Wales has seen a return of £19,668, prior to any deductions. Of this, the average capital gain contributed £11,057 while rental income made up £8,611 over the 12 months to November.