There’s been an upsurge in tenant demand seven times greater than usual, boosted by those who waited until after the changes to tenant fees introduced on June 1 to enter the market.

The change in national tenant demand between May and June is usually muted, and was about 1% over the past four years. This year, however, the uplift was 7%.

Rightmove said the shortage of rental stock over the last few years, along with this increase in demand, means tenants are likely to struggle to find the right property for them.

Average asking rents outside London hit an all-time high of £817 per month in Q2 2019, with the annual rate of 2.7% showing the same steady rise for the last three quarters.

Miles Shipside, commercial director and housing market analyst at Rightmove, commented: “A spike in tenants looking for a new place to live indicates some unsurprisingly held out until fees to start a new tenancy were removed by the government at the start of June.”

“The ongoing shortage of quality stock could end up being exacerbated further by landlords whose tenants are now giving their notice so they can move on without paying fees, and some of those landlords then choosing to sell up rather than let it out again.”