Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent, said: “Interestingly rents are still rising strongly which shows demand continues to outpace supply but as we have also found in our offices there is an affordability ceiling which tenants are finding increasingly difficult to break.

“Unfortunately, too many good landlords are leaving the sector in response to concerns about increasing tax and regulatory issues. Prospects of an improvement in choice and substantial softening in rents therefore seems unlikely for the time being at least.”

Harriet Scanlan, lettings manager at Antony Roberts in SW London, says there is more choice of rental property for tenants with an increase in stock coming to market but the supply-demand imbalance “still swings in favour of the landlord” and that is placing upward pressure on rental values.

Scanlan said: “We are seeing a strong steady flow of applicants looking to rent, which means landlords are enjoying little-to-no void periods. Landlords are still achieving slightly higher rents year-on–year when reletting property to the same tenants, but not as steep as the increase in 2022/23.”

Gareth Atkins, managing director of lettings at Foxtons, added: “As the rental market begins to stabilise ahead of the winter months, we’re seeing key regional trends shaping the landscape. While overall demand in London saw a seasonal decline in September, due to longer tenancy timelines, areas like Central London saw a 12% increase in applicants per new instruction.”