There has been a notable decline in the number of people living in rented accommodation, new research suggests.

An independent study carried out by Usurv, on behalf of Cover4LetProperty, found that 31% of the adult population were living in private or social rented property last month, down 7% since April 2017.

The study also revealed that 28% of private renters said their last rental rise was over a year ago, while just 8% said their last rent increase was within the last six months.

Many of the anti-landlord policies introduced over the last two years are now starting to impact private landlords, leaving many with little alternative but to increase rents. This partly explains why 29% of renters reported that at their last rent rise, the amount increased by up to 5%, while 11% saw a hike of between 6% and 10%.

The research also revealed that slightly more women (34%) live in rented accommodation compared to men (28%), 8% of Brits live with friends and family, 6% of respondents had recently moved back home citing “financial reasons”, while 22% of Britons living at home do not pay rent.

Richard Burgess, director at Cover4LetProperty, said: “While we hear about ever -increasing costs of living, property pricing and rent rises, it is interesting that our survey shows that it is not strictly the case with nearly a third of people surveyed saying they had not had a rent increase for over a year. And of those that did, again these were small rental increases. This tells us that landlords are working with tenants and not simply using them as a way to pass on increases in taxation like some commentators suggest”