You may have heard of the seven-year itch, but when it comes to the rental market, renters can only commit for an average of 18 months before moving on.

Research from Direct Line, looking at the length of time a tenant stays in a property before moving on, found Cardiff renters stayed for the shortest time at 11 months while Birmingham had the longest stays at two years and four months.

The data, based on a survey of 122 letting agents in April, found Aberdeen had the highest percentage of renters who vacated a property before the end of the tenancy at 19%, followed by 13% in Leeds and Sheffield.

Leicester had the lowest early leavers at 4%, followed by Bradford, Cardiff and Edinburgh at 5%.

It takes landlords 22 days to fill a property on average, with the longest time at 33 days in Aberdeen and Liverpool, compared with just 11 days in Birmingham.

Nick Breton, head of Direct Line for Business, said: “This research highlights the pressure landlords are under to replace outgoing tenants in their properties.

“Vacant properties are obviously a worry for landlords but it’s vitally important that they take into account void periods when calculating the affordability of owning a rental property.”