Rent hikes became more common last month, ARLA members have reported.

Separately, Your Move claimed that rents in all regions of England and Wales rose by an average of 1.6% between May and June in England and Wales, to £827.

On a yearly basis rents were up by 2.1% since June last year, according to Your Move.

According to ARLA Propertymark, 31% of agents saw rent rises in June, up from a proportion of 27% in May.

This is the highest level since April 2016, when 31% agents reported rent hikes.

The number of properties managed per member branch increased marginally in June to 190 – up from 189 in May, while demand dropped from 65 to 61 new tenants registered per branch over the month.

The ARLA Propertymark report also looked at the key demands letting agents would like the Government to focus on.

The majority (83%) would like to see the lettings fee ban scrapped, while 73% would also like improved enforcement of rogue landlords.

David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, said: “With the cost of living on the rise and inflationary pressures tightening, the last thing tenants need is for their rents to continue rising.

“However, the fact that supply looks to be rising, while demand has dropped slightly, indicates a move in the right direction for the market.

“Ultimately, to stop rent prices from increasing too much, we need to find the balance between supply and demand.

“While there’s still a long way to go, if the supply of rental stock continues to increase, and the number of tenants searching for new properties drops off, we’ll be making headway towards achieving this.”