Rental prices are once again on the up. This is attributed to the ever rising demand for rental properties.

The number of landlords increasing rent significantly rose in March. Coupled with this, lettings agents noted a significant increase in the numbers of prospective tenants registering per branch.

ARLA Propertymark’s data has shown that there were an average of 84 tenants registered per branch in March. This figure has risen by 2 from 84 per branch in February.

The highest number of new prospective tenants came from the West Midlands who reported a staggering average of 157 tenants registered per branch.

The number of properties being managed by lettings agents has fallen from an average of 195 in February to 193 in March. Rental stock was the lowest in London with 128 properties registered per branch.

This imbalance between supply and demand saw many landlords raise their rental charges. This increased from 49% of landlords raising rent to 60% the following month.

As expected, the number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions fell from 2% in February to 1.7% in March.