Three in four (76%) landlords in the UK have increased their rent in the past year, with the main reason being to cover higher mortgage costs, according to the latest survey by Landbay.

Over half of landlords (51%) cited mortgage payments as a reason for raising rent for their tenants, while one in five (20%) said their letting agent had advised them to raise the rent.

Property maintenance, repairs and upgraded works to improve an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating were also given as a reason for increasing rent by 8% of landlords.

If their mortgage rate goes up when they remortgage in the future, 71% of landlords said they would have to raise the rent, with 21% stating they were unsure.

On a regional basis, Landbay found that 89% of landlords in the South, excluding London, would raise rents, compared to 62% in the North, although 35% in this region said they were unsure.

The Midlands sat between the North and the South on this topic, with 78% of landlords saying they would have to increase rent.

However, London was at the lower end, with 65% of landlords saying they would raise rent, and 10% stating they were unsure.

Sales and distribution director at Landbay, Rob Stanton, said: "Higher mortgage rates when remortgaging is obviously a contributory factor to rent rises and is understandable as landlords need to cover their costs.

"For those landlords who haven’t or don’t intend to raise rent, it is generally because their mortgage costs are low or they have long standing and/or good tenants they want to keep."

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