New figures rfrom research conducted by Knight Frank has shown that the price of leasing a home in London has risen by 0.4 per cent in April.

That is the 20th consecutive month in which the value of the capital's property has gone up.

The figure is part of an annual growth rate of 16.3 per cent which could eventually bully many people out of the residental property rental market because of the soaring costs.

It is now believed to cost 25 per cent more to become a tenant in the capital than it did in June 2009.

The Council for Mortgage Lenders last week revealed that buy-to-let purchases were up in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year.