A glut of homes created by last year’s landlord rush to buy before the extra ‘second home’ Stamp Duty kicked in has slowed down the rental market significantly, it has been claimed.

In the UK letting agents are taking 10% longer to find tenants, and 20% longer in London, says Rightmove, as the number of properties available to rent on the portal increased by 12%.

Rental market growth halves

This has halved the rental growth figure for the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year, down from 3.9% to 1.8% across the UK, Rightmove says.

And outside London, the average rental price dropped for the first time since 2014, down by 0.4% on the previous quarter, while in London they increased by 1.5% compared using the same comparison.

“The supply boost following last year’s buy-to-let frenzy in the first few months of the year has continued through to 2017, introducing more competition in the market for letting agents trying to secure suitable tenants for their landlords’ properties,” says Rightmove’s Head of Lettings Sam Mitchell (pictured, left).

Sam, who before joining Rightmove was for a short period CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty and before that worked at Your Move and Foxtons, says the extra choice in the market is driving these figures.

But he also says that the new tax relief reductions being phased in this month may re-balance the stock as more landlords sell-up and exit the market.