Rents have risen to a new record high, said Rightmove.

The property portal said that national average asking rents outside London reached a new record of £1,190 a month at the end of the first quarter of the year.

Average asking rents in London passed £2,500 for the first time to reach a new record of £2,501.

Asking rents for new tenants have now risen for 13 consecutive quarters, although the pace of rent growth continues to slow and has now eased for three quarters in a row.

Tenant demand is 4% higher than this time last year, and 48% higher than 2019.

Limited supply

Supply of rental homes is still very constrained, said Rightmove, however it is showing slow signs of improvement this year.

The number of available properties to rent is currently 6% higher than last year, and across the first three months of the year has improved by 8% compared with the same period last year.

Despite this, the number of available properties to rent is still a massive 46% below 2019’s level.

Rightmove’s director of property science, Tim Bannister, said: “We have seen some early signs of improvement on squeezed supply levels this year, though with no significant influx of new properties becoming available to rent currently on the horizon, the mismatch is set to continue for some time.

“Many agents are having to manage a very high volume of tenant enquiries for every property that they let in the current market. Properties in popular areas within an affordable asking rent range of that local area are likely to be snapped up almost immediately, and on average homes are finding a tenant much more quickly than this time in 2019.

“Although there are some early signs that the gap between supply and demand is starting to narrow a little, it will still feel very competitive for tenants trying to secure a home.”

Craig Webster, managing director of Tiger Sales & Lettings in Blackpool, said: “The rental market remains very busy, with multiple applicants competing over a shortage of property to rent. We’re seeing more tenants staying put in their current home, which is having a knock-on effect for the rest of the market and contributing to the shortage.

“We are also seeing some of our landlords decide to sell up for a variety of reasons – more legislation to navigate, higher mortgage costs, or because they can now get a good price for their home. However, for new or existing landlords looking to grow their portfolio, yields remain very strong, with a mix of property types, both houses and flats, proving popular.”