Rents are still trickling up, according to Homelet’s latest Rental Index for July as the average rent rose to £767 up from £750. The whole of the UK saw rents rise, with the exception of Scotland and the North West of England, with the South West seeing a rise of nearly 5% from £734 to £770.

Although the average salary has risen, the month previous saw a drop while rents continued to rise.

London again saw a hike in rent prices, rising to an average of £1,154 a month. This has further pushed distance between the comparison to the rest of the UK; London now stands at 50.5% higher than the rest of the country.

HomeLet’s Managing Director John Boyle believes times are tough for London renters- “It seems tenants in Greater London are feeling the pinch more than anywhere else in the country; not only have their average salaries dropped from £37,287 to £36,659 over the past month – but rents have also grown a further 3.5% higher than June – now standing at £1,154.

“Even when compared to the figures from July 2010, a healthy 9% rise in salaries from £34,087 is overshadowed by a crippling 11.6% increase in monthly rental costs over the same period.”

Homelet also found that retired renters are becoming more common, and there was a 16% increase in 66-70 year-old renters selling-to-rent. Younger renters are down though, Homelet found a decrease of 7% on last July’s figures.