Rents outside London are rising at their quickest rate in over a decade as more and more people are swinging back into city life, according to the property website Zoopla.

This increase means renter face paying nearly £500 more per year than they did a year ago.

Apart from London, rental prices across the UK are up 5% year on year, which is being driven by soaring demand for property in major cities amid limited supply.

The 5% increase is the biggest since Zoopla’s index started in 2008.

Excluding London, average rents for the UK were stated at £790 per month, which is a rise from £752 a year ago.

This adds up to renters paying an average of £456 more per year.

Grainne Gilmore , head of research at Zoopla, spoke to the PA News Agency on this issue.

He said: “The strong levels of rental demand seen across the UK during August will moderate in line with seasonal trends, but overall demand for rental property is likely to remain higher than usual in the coming months, amid this swing back to city life.

“As ever, much will be dependent on the extent to which the current rules around Covid continue as they are.

“But given no deviation from the current landscape, the demand for rental property, coupled with lower levels of supply, will continue to put upward pressure on rents.

“In London, this will translate into rental growth returning to positive territory late 2021 or early 2022,” he added.