Lettings platform Goodlord claims void periods have dropped and rents have declined, which it attributes to February being ‘a traditionally quiet month’.

Figures from Goodlord, based on a sample of 4,000 tenancies processed through its platform last month, suggest void periods dropped last month across England and Wales from 20 to 19 days.

Void periods dropped in six out of eight regions of England and Wales, with the largest fall in London from 15 to ten days.

The east midlands saw an increase in void periods from 19 to 27 days and they rose in the north-east from 22 to 24 days.

Goodlord said average rents also fell from £875 per month to £864 across England and Wales, with only the west midlands and south-east England registering increases.

Tom Mundy, chief operating officer at Goodlord, said: “February is traditionally one of the quietest months of the year for lettings, which means these figures are aligned with our expectations for this period.

“It’s a good opportunity for letting agents to take stock of the systems they have in place and make sure they’re not only prepared for an increase in volumes as we head towards summer, but also upcoming legislation changes that will increase administration, such as the new electrical safety standards regulations.”

This is the first set of rental data for February as other organisations such as ARLA Propertymark and HomeLet have so far only released figures for January that have shown a rise in rents.

Goodlord’s data reflects ARLA Propertymark figures that last week showed tenant demand was at a record high in January.

ARLA Propertymark’s figures, provided to EYE, show average void periods were at three weeks in January, down from four in December 2019.