The largest number of tenancies due to end in March – 70 per cent – were renewed this year since 2008, when 77 per cent did so, says Hamptons.

Data from the estate agency also shows that rents on these renewed tenancies in Great Britain fell 0.5 per cent on an annual basis, which is the biggest fall since February 2014.

London led the charge here: in the capital, rents fell 2.2 per cent, and in the South East, a drop of 1.4 per cent was recorded.

In Scotland, renewed tenancy rents grew by 3.4 per cent.

In line with the increase in tenancy renewals, demand for rental properties fell 31 per cent from February to March, while available stock grew 11 per cent during the same time frame. However, Hamptons adds, supply is down on an annual basis.

Overall, rent on newly let property rose 1.2 per cent in the year to March, coming in at £980. On a monthly basis it fell 3.3 per cent, with this slow down in growth driven by the 1.3 per cent yearly drop in London.

The biggest gain was again in Scotland, where year-on-year growth in this metric was 6.5 per cent.

Hamptons head of research Aneisha Beveridge says: “Tenants’ concerns about their future income prospects combined with greater risk of void periods for landlords willing to advertise their property on the open market, resulted in the rent falls.

“Once lockdown restrictions ease, we expect activity levels to rise. Renting offers more flexibility than buying a home, so as uncertainty rises, so too does the demand for rental homes. But although demand for rental accommodation is set to increase, and there are already signs of it picking back up again. The longer-term economic damage to people’s jobs and incomes means that rents on newly let properties are likely to fall between 2 per cent and 5 per cent this year.”