Tenants in Scotland have had to meet rent increases that are among the highest in the UK and accelerating at almost twice the countrywide average.

Experts have now issued a warning over uncertainty in the market after the European Referendum and it follows claims new tax laws in Scotland have meant fewer landlords are buying to let and availability is decreasing.

While rents across the UK continued to rise during June new data from the HomeLet Rental Index reveals rents rising by 7.4 per cent in a year.

It puts rents at an average of £702, against £654 at the same time last year.

The index, described as the most comprehensive data available on the UK’s private rental market, shows that rents agreed on new tenancies across the UK over the three months to the end of June were up by 3.5 per cent, compared to the same period in 2015.

Property expert Martin Totty, chief executive of the Barbon Insurance Group, said that "landlords will be considering their position carefully" in the face of Brexit and tax changes.

He said: "The impact of the EU referendum vote will now play out over the months ahead: if, as expected, the result acts as a restraint on the supply of new housing, the gap between demand and supply in the private rental sector will remain marked; all the more so if more people decide to rent while waiting to see what happens to house prices."

Landlords were also hit by higher stamp duty charges on purchases of new property in April, while tenant demand for property has remained strong.

The report found the outlook for the sector will depend in part on the fall-out from the UK’s decision to leave the European Union in June’s referendum.

Some economists expect the referendum result to act as a brake on construction in the housing sector, which could exacerbate the current imbalance between demand and supply in the rental market.

It said it is also possible that demand may increase as would-be house buyers opt to wait and see how house prices are affected over the next 12 months and beyond.

HomeLet’s data also suggests that the average length of a tenancy – as measured by how long tenants had occupied their previous rental property – has begun to come down over the past three months.

The new Land and Building Transaction Tax surcharge for buy-to-let properties, brought in make the rental market more fair, means properties bought for up to £145,000 do not attract any tax, but above that payments rise with the cost of the property.

However rises in rents in Scotland have led to concerns the new tax system has put buyers off at least in the short term.

Brian Moran, lettings director at Your Move Scotland, said separately the tax has dissuaded landlords from investing in the sector "leading to a shortage of homes to rent, compared to the demand for housing".

The Scottish Government said the new structure will help bring parity adding "through LBTT, we are removing any market distortion, particularly at the lower end of the Scottish market" while Dr John Boyle, Rettie and Co's research and strategy director, has said a framework "that incentivises small and larger landlords to enter the sector and meet the demand".