RENTS in Scotland are rising at a slower pace than in the rest of the UK, figures show.
Average Scottish rents rose by just 1.7 per cent in the past year, less than one-third of the rate in England and Wales, according to the latest Scotland Buy-to-Let Index from Your Move.
While this is good news for tenants, landlords will be feeling the pinch as the average residential rate fell 0.3 per cent from August to September, the second consecutive monthly drop in Scottish rents.
This means the the typical rent in Scotland is now 0.8 per cent lower than at its summer peak in July and stood at £545 in September.
The figures were affected by the cost of renting property in Scotland's largest city and the surrounding area, where rents dropped 2.6 per cent, or£15, during the past 12 months to stand at £555 on average.
Elsewhere, rents increased over the past year with the strongest annual growth recorded in the Highlands and Islands, with tenants are paying £34 for a property on average compared to September 2014.
The south of Scotland saw the second fastest annual rise in rents, up 4.0 per cent in the past 12 months, while Edinburgh and the Lothians witnessed a more muted rent rise of 2.0 per cent year-on-year.
Typical weekly rents in the East of Scotland are now 1.9 per cent higher than a year ago.
Brian Moran, lettings director at Your Move Scotland, said: “Over the summer we witnessed a short-term surge in rent prices, but this has been superseded more recently with a slower rate of rent growth, which doesn’t even come close to what we’re witnessing south of the Border.
"Scottish rents have been falling for the past few months, and realigning to calmer levels for the autumn. This is even more extraordinary when you consider we’ve just weathered peak lettings season. It’s certainly not a sector spiralling out of control."
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