The average number of rental properties on letting agents’ books reached 184 in July, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

This is the highest number seen so far in 2016 and up 5% from June. However, year on year supply is down. In July 2015, the number of properties letting agents had registered reached an annual high of 189 – 3% higher than July this year.

Demand from prospective tenants for rental accommodation fell slightly, from 37 house-hunters per branch in June, to 36 in July, and the majority of agents reported no change to rent prices in July.

David Cox, managing director at ARLA, said: “Despite reports that the housing market is spiralling out of control post-Brexit, our results paint a very different picture and indicate that the future is bright for the rental market. Supply is up, as we’d expect at this time of year, and the number of tenants experiencing rent hikes hasn’t changed in three months. While we obviously need new houses to balance the growing gap between supply and demand, what’s positive is that the situation isn’t worsening as a direct result of June’s Brexit result.”