Demand also dropped, with the number of registered tenants falling by 11% to 33 per ARLA branch.
Rental supply fell by 4% in March to reach its lowest level since the start of last year, the Association of Residential Letting Agent’ March Private Rental Sector report shows.
ARLA's managing director David Cox reckoned the 3% stamp duty surcharge which came into force in April will see stock tumble even further.
He said: “Not only do our agents predict that rent costs will increase further, but rental homes may also face a decline in quality over time, as landlords struggle to keep up with maintenance costs alongside the higher stamp duty charge.
“Whilst landlords adjust to the increase in costs we can expect to see one of three outcomes prevailing in the buy-to-let market: landlords absorbing the cost and taking the hit; landlords withdrawing from the market causing supply to fall; or landlords regaining those costs through hiking rents. Next month we can start to assess the damage.”
It’s was a brighter picture in Scotland where ARLA agents typically had 273 properties on their books, while there were 207 per branch in Yorkshire and Humberside.
In London however agents had just 122 properties on their books per branch.
Demand also dropped in March, with the number of registered tenants falling by 11% to 33 per branch.
