Across the UK, the average monthly rent was £969 by the fourth quarter of 2021, Zoopla said
Rents are now £62 per month higher on average than when the UK coronavirus lockdowns first started, analysis has found.
Wales saw the third highest rent price rise at 9.8 percent, coming behind only London and Northern Ireland, which each saw increases of more than ten percent.
Across the UK, the average monthly rent was £969 by the fourth quarter of 2021, Zoopla said.
Households who agree new lets are now having to pay an additional average annual cost of £744, or £62 per month, compared with typical costs in March 2020, the property website added.
People trying to make the jump out of the rental sector and on to the property ladder also face a £24,500 rise in the average house price over the past year, according to figures released earlier this week by Halifax.
The average UK house price hit a record high of £276,759 at the start of 2022, the banking company said.
Wales remains the region that has experienced the sharpest rise in house prices.
The news comes after YouGov polling found significant public support for caps on private rent prices, as well as a ban on buy-to-let mortgages for newly built properties and increased council tax for second homes.
A Senedd debate on rent controls will take place this afternoon.
Zoopla said the average rent accounts for 37 percent of a single earner’s gross income.
This is up from a ‘pandemic dip’ of 34 percent during most of 2021 but broadly in line with the 10-year average of 36 percent, the website added.
Demand for rental homes is increasing, but the supply of rental properties in January 2022 was well below levels normally seen at the start of the year, it said.
Grainne Gilmore, head of research, Zoopla, said: Rents have risen sharply in recent months, amid a backdrop of rising living costs. But it is important to point out that in terms of rental affordability, in most markets rents are still close to the 10-year average.
She said: As demand continues to outpace supply, there will be further upward pressure on rents, but affordability considerations will act as a brake on large rises.
