Buy to let landlords have seen rents rise 1.3% in a year, according to the latest official data.
The underlying figures vary across the country.
Tenants in England are paying 1.3% more, while those in Wales are paying slightly less – at 1.1%.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics are the latest available and cover the year ending May 31.
Regional rents are outpacing those in London, which are still recovering from a slowdown in 2016, says the ONS.
Rents in the capital were up 0.9% year-on-year but increased 0.5% from April 2019.
The annual increase is the highest rate London has seen since September 2017 and may signal a resurgence for landlords, says the ONS.
Excluding London, rents in England and Wales increased by 1.5% in the year, since January 2019 the rate of increase has stuck at 0%.
The East Midlands saw the largest annual rent increase (2.1%), unchanged from April 2019.
Next was the South West (2.0%), up from 1.7% in April 2019 and Yorkshire and The Humber (1.8%), unchanged since February 2019.
The lowest annual rent increase was in the North East, where prices increased by 0.5% from 0.4% in April 2019, followed by London.
Rent rises around the English regions – May 2019
