Rents across England and Wales have hit a fresh high after a record surge in July, new figures show.

The average rent was driven to £804 on the back of the fastest month-on-month price increase seen since 2009, according to the latest Buy-to-Let Index from Your Move and Reeds Rains.

Rents rose by 1.9% in July, up from £789 the previous month, the fastest monthly rise seen since records began in 2009.

Landlord gross yields improved to 5.2%, the first substantial increase seen since March this year.

Rents hit highest levels since 2009 in Yorkshire & the Humber, East and West Midlands, and London

The average rent in England and Wales has risen 6.8% in the last year, the largest annual rise on record, lifting rents from £753 in July last year.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Reeds Rains and Your Move, said: “Just when you think the rental market is accelerating at full throttle, it finds a way to shift into a higher gear.

“We’re seeing rent rises manage to hit record-breaking speeds on both monthly and yearly timeframes as far back as our data can go.

“But rents are just a small part of the larger economic machine. The fact that they’re purring along at higher-than-ever speeds is a sign that the rest of the economy is picking up.

“An engine can’t use fuel it doesn’t have. These rent rises are a reflection of heavier wage packets being fed back into economy now that the rust from the recession has been cleaned off the cogs.”

But Gill warned that homes have become a scarce commodity and a concerted effort to build new properties was needed to balance supply with demand.