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London rents keep falling on election jitters

Dropping: London rent prices have fallen since the Brexit vote: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images
Dropping: London rent prices have fallen since the Brexit vote: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

Rents in London have dropped for a fifth successive month amid political uncertainty, a new report from lettings agency Your Move said on Tuesday.

The average property in London was let for £1273 in April, a 0.3% drop from a month earlier and 1.8% down from April 2016.

Valerie Bannister, lettings director at Your Move, said: “Recent years have been characterised by rapidly rising rents in London, with the capital steaming ahead of the rest of the country.”

However, she said uncertainty caused by Brexit and the snap election had forced the property market here “to take a pause for breath”.

The upcoming election was also blamed for a slowdown in UK housebuying demand.

The National Association of Estate Agents said the number of house-hunters registered per estate agent branch fell in April.

NAEA’s chief Mark Hayward said: “All of the main political parties have outlined significant housing promises in their manifestos... Buyers and sellers alike are recognising this and adopting a ‘wait and see’ strategy to decipher how or if the value of their existing or future homes will be affected.”