Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of letting agents have seen an increase in the number of tenants renewing their tenancies over the past 12 months, said Propertymark.

It said they tenants are choosing to stay put because competition for rental properties has intensified, due to a severe lack of stock and sustained high demand.

Each letting agent branch received an average of 127 new rental applications during July but had just 11 rental homes available per branch. It means prospective tenants are in competition with at least 10 other parties for each home.

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, said: “The private rental market continues to be battered by the perfect storm of high demand, low availability and affordability issues that shows no sign of easing.

“Governments across the UK are all engaged in a tenant-focussed reform of their private rental sectors. They also need to consider the heavy tax burden on property owners, the impact of more profitable and less regulated short-term lets, many of which stand empty for part of the year, and the lack of new homes being built to cope with the varied needs of a growing population.”

Rents rising

The supply and demand pressures are pushing rents higher, with a record 82% of letting agents reporting month-on-month increases in rental rates.

Propertymark said that pressure on rents has been steadfast since spring 2021.