Newly released data, which was collected throughout 2022, has highlighted a huge increase in the number of rental applications which aren’t being approved by agents.

According to findings from Vouch, between January and April of this year, there were an average of 509 tenancies being cancelled by agents each month. The figures have then steadily risen with each passing month. In August, a huge 1,959 applications were voided - nearly quadruple the rate recorded in the first months of 2022.

This means that as many as 19% of all tenancy applications across England were cancelled during August, compared to just 4% during January, the firm said.

Tenancies can be cancelled for a range of reasons, including tenants failing reference or credit checks, having insufficient funds to cover prospective rental costs, or if applications are suspected of fraud.

This data only includes tenancies cancelled by letting agents and excludes incidences where the tenant themselves pulled out of the process.

Experts at Vouch believe the rising cost of rent and wider increases in the cost of living means more tenants are unable to meet the financial obligations of their preferred tenancies. In addition, the introduction of sophisticated anti-fraud measures is more accurately discovering suspicious tenancy applications before they are approved.