Average rents climbed slightly in the first month of the tenant fees ban but are still lower than at the start of the year.

Analysis of the tenancies processed through lettings platform Goodlord found average rents in England and Wales increased from £901 in May to £907 in June, when the ban was introduced.

The average is still below the £917 recorded in January.

The ban won’t be applied in Wales until September but rents were up by 5.8% on a monthly basis to £800.

In e was a 5.7% increase in the south west to £947 per month.

Rents did fall in some areas, down 6.1% in the south-east and 1.3% in London.

The research also showed void periods across the UK fell from 20.3 to 16.1 days, with the highest at 25 in the east midlands.

The south-west and Wales had the lowest void periods at nine days.

Tom Mundy, co-founder of Goodlord, said: “It’s been another interesting month across the UK. We continue to see a range of market factors affecting average rental prices.

“Whilst London prices are holding fairly steady, we’ve seen a big drop across the south east as a whole.

“This contrasts sharply with a steady rise in rents for the south west and Wales.

“As we move into the summer – typically the busiest season for lettings – it will be interesting to see what the impact of student housing churn and the repercussions of the tenant fees ban have on rental costs and void periods.”