PRIVATE rents continue to be high this summer, says the trade body for residential letting agents.

The number of letting agents who saw rents rise for tenants stayed at 31 per cent in July - no change from June, and up from 27 per cent in May.

By comparison, in July 2016 only 28 per cent of agents saw rents moving upwards.

Rent stock continued to increase slowly, alongside growing demand, according to the latest report from ARLA Propertymark, the Association of Residential Letting Agents.

The number of properties managed per member branch increased marginally in July, to 192 - up from 190 in June. This is the highest level since January, when agents managed 193 on average, says the trade body.

Year on year, this figure has increased by four per cent. In July last year, letting agents managed 184 properties on average.

Demand from prospective new tenants increased to 70 in July, from 61 in June.

David Cox, chief executive of ARLA Propertymark, said: "Landlords really are stuck between a rock and a hard place. All the tax increases they’ve incurred over the last 18 months have meant they either need to sell their properties and exit the market, or increase rent payments to plug the deficit.

"Neither of these outcomes benefit tenants; if they exit the market, supply is even more strained and, matched with growing demand, rent prices will increase anyway.

"The Government may claim they are helping tenants but the unintended consequences of their actions on the private rental sector are now really being felt by tenants in terms of lack of homes to choose from and the feeling of being constantly priced out of the market. This needs to change.”

- Meanwhile, new government figures show that private renters spend a significantly greater proportion of their income on housing costs than social renters or those buying with a mortgage.

On average, those buying their home with a mortgage spent 18 per cent of their

household income on mortgage payments, compared to 28 per cent for social renters and 35 per cent for private tenants. The figures are from the English Housing Survey from the Department for Communities and Local Government.