The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that this was lower than the growth of 3.5% seen in the year to April, indicating a continued slowdown of rental price growth.
The strongest increase was seen in Wales, where the average private rent was £836 per month, 4.7% higher than last year.
This was followed by England, where rents rose by 3.4% to £1,442, and Scotland, which saw a 1% uplift to £1,009 per month.
The ONS’ most recent data for Northern Ireland covered the 12 months to March and showed a 3.3% increase to £876 for the average monthly private rent.
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North East rental growth slows but remains strong
Within England, the highest rental inflation was recorded in the North East at 5.9%, averaging £776 per month. However, this was subdued compared to the growth of 6.5% recorded in April.
London recorded the lowest annual rent inflation, at 2% to £2,294.
Respectively, each region represented the lowest and highest average rents across England.
The region with the second-strongest growth for private rent was the North West, with a 5.4% year-on-year rise to £954 per month.
Rent was highest for detached properties, the ONS data showed, attracting an average of £1,572 per month, and lowest for flats and maisonettes at £1,351.
Larger properties with four or more bedrooms had the highest rent on average, coming to £2,056 per month in May, while one-bedroom properties had the lowest at £1,123.
A nuanced picture
Alex Upton, managing director for specialist mortgages and bridging finance at Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB), said the headline rate of growth “did not tell the whole story”.
Referring to research from Hometrack pointing to a two-speed market where there were some areas with average rents below £1,250, Upton said these locations were seeing stronger growth than higher cost areas.
Upton added: “Much of that comes back to supply, particularly in areas where available stock has fallen sharply over recent years.”
She said this was feeding into the approach the lender was seeing from landlords, where there were “far fewer conversations centred around expansion for the sake of growth and much more focus on portfolio quality and more dependable income”.
Upton added: “More experienced investors are still active, but they are becoming increasingly selective about the assets they take on and where they see opportunities to strengthen returns over time.
“We’re also continuing to see strong appetite for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and mixed-use property, particularly where investors can improve income or reposition assets over the longer term. Those cases often involve more moving parts than a standard refinance or acquisition, which is why brokers are playing such an important role in helping investors work through funding and structure.”
