The number of tenants experiencing rent rises increased to the highest figure on record in July according to data just produced by the Association of Residential Letting Agents.

No fewer than 63 per cent of agents witnessed some of their landlord clients increasing rents during July – this is a 15 per cent increase from June which was itself a previous record high.

Back in July 2018 the proportion of agents seeing rent rises was just 31 per cent.

David Cox, ARLA Propertymark chief executive, says: “Following the Tenant Fees Act coming into force in June, rents have continued to rise, which we believed would happen. The fees agents have been banned from charging are still being paid for by tenants – however it’s now through their rent, rather than upfront costs.

Meanwhile agents had an average of 184 properties under management per NAEA member branch in July, a decrease from 199 in June.

Demand also increased in July, with the number of prospective tenants registered on average per branch rising to 73 compared to 70 in June.

Year on year, demand has fallen, from 79 house hunters registered per branch in July 2018.

And last month the number of landlords exiting the market remained at four per branch. This remains the same from July 2018.

“The fall in the number of properties available further increases competition in the market, which only pushes rents up or forces landlords to exit the market entirely. As the sector faces increased levels of legislation, it’s evident this is putting even more pressure on the industry” says Cox.

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