The average void period for rental properties in the UK remained broadly unchanged at 20 days during September, although the rental market did see the median cost of renting drop slightly by 1% overall last month, the latest data from Goodlord shows.

The North East was home to the quickest average void time last month at just 12 days, representing a marginal decline month-on-month.

Greater London, West Midlands and South West also saw relatively low falls in void periods last month.

But slight increases in void periods were recorded in the East Midlands, increasing from 16 to 18 days, the North West, up from 19 to 23 days, and the South East, where the average now stands at 16 days, up from 13 days.

The region with the longest average void in September was the West Midlands at an average of 25 days.

Meanwhile, the data also showed that across the UK average cost of rent fell by 1% from £997 a month to £985.

The East Midlands, North East, North West and South West all recorded dips in the cost of rent.

The East Midlands saw the biggest fall, with a 5% fall in rents from £935 a month in August to £890 in September.

Unsurprisingly, London remains the most expensive place to rent a property with an average monthly cost of £1,693, despite a 1% drop month-on-month.

Wales is the cheapest place in the UK to rent property at an average of £654 a month.

Goodlord chief operating officer Tom Mundy said: “Despite new restrictions on people’s movements in various regions across the UK, the rental market is holding steady.

“In fact, the sector’s bounceback has been incredibly strong to date and demonstrates the resilience of the lettings market.

“The steadiness of void periods in particular is an encouraging sign of a market that has found its equilibrium after a year of extremes.

“As we head into winter, we’ll be keeping a keen eye on trends, but agents are heading into the coming months in robust shape.”

Separate research conducted by Goodlord recently found that letting agents are generally feeling more optimistic about the letting sector than they were at the outset of 2020 despite the challenges of Covid-19.”

More than 350 letting professionals took part in the recent State of the Industry survey from Goodlord, with 80% of respondents saying they felt “positive” about the future of the letting industry, an increase of almost 50% since the start of the year.

Some 84% of respondents said that they were confident their own businesses had the financial resources to continue operating for the foreseeable future, with just 3% of respondents saying they were either not confident or did not know.

Mundy commented: “We’ve always known that the lettings industry and those working in it are incredibly resilient. But the last six months have proved that they can weather the most intense of storms.”