Financial pressure on landlords caused by regulatory and tax changes mean many are being forced to hike tenants’ rents to cover the costs.

With the average rent in the UK currently at £918 the predicted increase would push this figure up by £23 a month, according to online letting agent MakeUrMove which commissioned the study of UK landlords .

And this would mean increases of £414 across a typical 18-month tenancy and rent rises totalling £46 million a month across the UK.

In London the impact will be most severely felt, MakeUrMove explained. In the capital, where tenants currently fork out on average £1,274 a month in rent, half of landlords said they were planning to increase prices compared to 40% nationally.

But tenants in the North East and Scotland will also suffer, as 46% and 45% of landlords respectively said they would be forced to push up rents because of the new regulations.

Last resort

MakeUrMove said nearly all landlords it questioned said rent increases were a ‘last resort’ and they felt it was important to keep tenants happy.

Alexandra Morris, managing director of MakeUrMove, said: “Rents have already been increasing year on year, and it’s likely that 2018 will be the year that sees UK tenants feel the biggest impact yet from the recent changes introduced to the private rental sector.

“From our experience, we know many tenants are already stretching their monthly budgets to afford rental properties, and additional rent increases could be the final straw, tipping them into debt or rent arrears.”

The predicted rent increases, MakeUrMove’s figures reveal, would disproportionately affect young people the most as the majority of UK tenants, nearly 60%, were aged between 18 and 34.