The number of tenants who successfully managed to negotiate a rent reduction – either on the cost of a tenancy renewal or that of a new rental property – almost disappeared in December.

The latest ARLA Propertymark PRS (Private Rented Sector) Report shows that just 1.1% of tenants successfully negotiated a discount.

This is down from 1.6% the previous month and marks the lowest number since its records began five years ago.

The number of member agents witnessing rent increases remained steady last month at almost a third (32%). But the figure is considerably higher than the 18% and 16% recorded in December 2018 and December 2017 respectively.

ARLA Propertymark’s chief executive, David Cox said: “Since the tenant fees ban came into effect, our data shows that rents reached an all-time high last year.

“While we have seen a slight drop in the number of agents witnessing landlords increasing rents since then, overall rents remain high and now it seems that tenants are finding it harder than ever to negotiate a reduction in rent.”

Demand for rental property in December fell for the third consecutive month, with 56 prospective tenants registered per ARLA-member branch, down from 67 in November.

However, the average number of properties managed per branch stepped up last month from 203 to 206.

Cox added: “Now that we have a new government in place, it’s important that long overdue legislative changes are implemented to make the market attractive again for both tenants and landlords.”