Properties in the capital now command an average monthly rental cost of £1,038, a figure that was 0.6% up on the previous month and higher than the record prices of £1,033 posted last November.

Across England and Wales as a whole, rents lifted 0.4% to an average of £712 per month. These figures are up 2.3% on the same period in 2011.

Rental prices rose in the majority of regions with the top gains in the North West and East Midlands, where they rose 1.7% and 1% respectively.

Four regions posted a decline on the previous month with the largest falls coming in the North East, where they decreased 1%, and the West Midlands area, where they fell by 0.9%.

Comparing figures with 2011, rents rose the fastest in London where they increased by 4.2%. Rents in the East Midlands and Wales fell by 1.5% and 0.7% respectively on the same period last year.

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David Brown, commercial director at LSL Property Services, said: “The end of spring has brought with it renewed activity in the rental market, and rents have returned to the level seen before the impact of the stamp duty deadline rush by first-time buyers.

“The reality is that thousands of frustrated buyers are still financially trapped between a rock and a hard place. Historically high rents and rock-bottom savings rates are hampering attempts to save for the larger deposits banks now require – not to mention meeting the cost of the reinstated stamp duty tax.

“In turn, fewer tenants are able to leave the sector, and the strong tenant competition is pushing up rents as a result, making saving for a deposit harder still.

Rental arrears figures improved month-on-month with 8.9% of all rent late or unpaid at the end of the month, down from 9.9%. Unpaid rent in May totalled £275m, down from £306m in the previous month.