Number of rentals 'soars by 20%'

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Around 64% of letting agents outside of London said demand for rental property outstripped the number of homes they had on their books, falling to 41% within the capital, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

Unsurprisingly, given the boom in demand, rents are also rising, with average rents for a house increasing by 3% to £387 a week during the three months to the end of August, while rents on flats have jumped by 7% to around £253.

At the same time, the average amount of time a property is empty has fallen to just four weeks or less each year, while tenants are now staying in properties for around 16.7 months, rising to more than 18 months in London.

Ian Potter, ARLA's head of operations, said: "This steady rise in rental growth that we see yet again, coupled to clear evidence that there is no unusual selling, proves once again that the credit crunch effect on the private rented sector exists only in the imagination.

"This is underlined by the short void periods and length of time that tenants stay in rental properties."

But the group added that despite the positive outlook for the sector, investment landlords were delaying expanding their portfolios until the outlook for the housing market was clearer.

The group, which questioned 453 letting offices, said agents in all areas of the country were reporting properties coming on the market to rent, with these mainly consisting of houses that could not be sold in the current market conditions.