The top search term for renters is ‘bills included’ this month, according to Rightmove, reflecting growing concern over the cost of living crisis.

It overtook the search for pet-friendly homes compared to a year ago for the first time, says the property website, as tenants look for “more certainty in their outgoings as the cost of living continues to rise”.

The top five searches in August are: bills, pets, furnished, balcony and garden.

The survey also found that the average size of area that people are looking in to find a new place to rent has almost doubled in size compared with four years ago, “as a lack of rental stock and record rents mean renters are casting a wider net to search for properties”.

It says that the average area renters – looking for two-bedroom properties, or below – are searching and contacting agents in has expanded to 137km2 from 70km2 in July 2018, although the reports points out that hybrid working “is also a likely factor as many people have more flexibility about where they live”.

The survey adds that the average asking rent outside London is 19% higher than two years ago, up from £949 per calendar month to a record of £1,126 per calendar month.

It also says: “While the number of new rental properties coming onto the market is slowly getting better, there is still a huge imbalance between demand and supply.”

New rental properties were up 3% in July compared to June, but total available rental properties remain 25% behind this time last year.

The survey says: “The result is a fiercely competitive and fast-moving rental market, with prospective tenants seeing properties being snapped up twice as quickly as they were two years ago.”

Rightmove property expert Tim Bannister says: “The lack of homes is down to more people choosing to stay put and sign longer contracts, some landlords selling up due to more onerous taxes and others taking advantage of record house prices, and hybrid working shifting some demand to more rural and suburban pockets of the UK.

“This has all led to a fiercely competitive rental market in many areas with agents reporting that in some cases properties are being rented out in just a few hours.”

In its latest tenant survey in April, Chestertons found that the inclusion of utility bills in the rent is now the most important element for 77% of respondents, compared to 48% in 2019

The estate agent also says that 60%, up from 45% in 2019, said that a fast, reliable internet connection was a key factor, which is “likely further evidence of the growth in homeworking”.