Agents, landlords and renters scrambled to sign tenancy agreements ahead of the introduction of coronavirus lockdown measures last month, Goodlord claims.

Data from the lettings platform shows the number of tenancy agreements completed rose faster than usual between the end of February and start of March, coinciding with the first cases of coronavirus in the UK and rumours about the introduction of social distancing measures for older and more vulnerable individuals.

There was a 5% increase in completed tenancy documents between February 24th and March 2nd and a 16% rise over the next seven days to March 9th.

The number of new tenancy documents signed then dropped by 6% in the week up to March 16th  – coinciding with when Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed his initial rules on non-essential travel before a full lockdown was announced – and have been dropping since.

The number of tenancy agreements signed was up 10% annually over the whole of March.

The number of tenancy documents set up for new lets has been consistently falling since the start of March and ended the month down 11% annually.

The figure fell 37% alone over the seven days to March 24th, Goodlord figures showed.

The platform’s data shows average rents in the UK were at £878 in March, up from £864 in February.

Wales saw the biggest rise, up 5% on a monthly basis to £660, while the only fall was in the south west of England where rents declined by 1% to £864 per month on average.

Tom Mundy, chief operating officer at Goodlord, said: “It’s been an unprecedented month for the whole economy and the property market has been at the sharp end of the impact. But whilst we’ve seen a dramatic decline in the past 10 days compared to 2019, the lettings market is and will continue to be needed.

“As tenancies expire and contract renewals are needed, agents will continue to play a crucial role in ensuring that this process can still be handled quickly and securely and the temporary changes to right to rent mean that can take place almost entirely remotely.

“While no one knows how long the current restrictions will last, we can be confident that a sharp increase in demand will be recorded in the lettings markets as soon as measures are loosened.”