Are rents going up or down?

Research the prime minister claims shows rents are falling across the country actually shows they are increasing year on year.

Earlier this month, David Cameron said rent levels are coming down as a result of caps introduced in April 2011 to local housing allowance paid to private tenants. The claim was immediately questioned by the sector and Labour MPs.

In a parliamentary debate yesterday afternoon, housing minister Grant Shapps said he thought Mr Cameron was referring to recent analysis by LSL Property Services. Its report, which was published earlier this month, showed the average rent fell by 0.8 per cent in December compared with November, to £711 a month.

But the monthly fall came after 10 months of rises, and renting was still 4 per cent more expensive than the previous December.