UK rents rise at slowest pace since 2013 as Brexit vote weighs

LONDON (Reuters) – Average rents for residential properties in Britain grew at their slowest pace since 2013 last year, a survey showed on Monday, a latest sign of how uncertainty about Brexit is weighing on the economy.

The 1.6 percent increase in rents was also the first below-inflation rise since 2013, according to the index compiled by the Deposit Protection Service which runs a deposit protection scheme for landlords and tenants.

Rents in London rose most slowly, up only 0.4 percent.

Julian Foster, DPS managing director, said:

“The current slowdown in fact began in mid-2016 and is likely to be linked to the EU referendum result.

“It will be interesting to watch the index as the UK government’s negotiations with the EU and other economic influences progress during 2018.”

British house prices saw a similar slowdown last year when they rose at their slowest pace since 2012 across the country and fell in London for the first time since 2009, mortgage lender Nationwide said in January.

Britain’s economy has held up better than most forecasts made at the time of the decision by voters to leave the EU in June 2016, but it is growing more slowly than most other big, advanced nations.