It has become cheaper to rent a home in Britain than to buy, following a sharp rise in mortgage rates since the war in Iran , new figures show.

The cost of a typical new mortgage payment has overtaken the average rent for the first time since June last year, according to analysis by Rightmove .

It found the average advertised monthly rent across Britain is currently £1,547.

This was £123 lower than the average new monthly mortgage payment of £1,670.

Rightmove’s mortgage figure is based on the current average asking price for a home of £373,971 and the average two-year fixed rate in April so far.…