Rent is cheaper than mortgage payments for the first time since 2010

In places such as northern England and Scotland, mortgage payments are still cheaper than renting

Rent is cheaper than mortgage payments for the first time in over a decade (EPA)

It is now cheaper to rent a home than to buy one for the first time since 2010 because of the rise in mortgage rates.

According to property website Zoopla, the average UK rent is £1,163 per month, while average mortgage repayments are £1,285 for first-time buyers with a 15% deposit.

London and the southeast are the worst affected locations for higher mortgage rates than rent but it is still cheaper to buy in areas like northern England and Scotland.

Richard Donnell, head of insights at Zoopla, told the BBC: "Around the country, the picture varies as in areas with lower house prices buying is still cheaper than renting.

"In southern England where prices are higher, access to homeownership is most out of reach and rents are high as well."

he added that it has been much cheaper to buy than rent due to "ultra-cheap mortgage rates".

Zoopla based its calculation on the average value of a UK home of £263,000 where a first-time buyer had put down a 15% deposit of £39,500. Then the average monthly mortgage payment was compared to the average rental cost.

The biggest difference was in London where the average house price is around £552,000. The average rent is £493 less a month than a mortgage payment.

Whereas in Scotland the average home is £127,000 and the average mortgage payment is £128 cheaper than monthly rent.

Yet, despite rents being cheaper than mortgages, this year Rightmove found that the average monthly rent being asked of new tenants, excluding London, hit record levels.

The average rent is £1,172 while the typical London rent also hit a record high of £2,480 a month.

The website predicts average asking rents across Britain for newly available properties will rise a further 5% in 2023, unless there is a significant addition of available homes to rent.