The repercussions of the Government’s stamp duty hike on second homes may already be starting to bite, as new rental properties listed by landlords in May were down 5.7% on March levels before the surcharge was introduced, according to research by property crowdfunding platform Property Partner, which looks at the number of new rental properties coming onto the market in 89 major towns and cities across the UK.

After the stampede of landlords putting rental properties on the market in April, last month saw a sizeable, but not altogether surprising, 15.4% drop in new rental listings.

However, new listings fell so far in many areas of the country in May, that they actually dropped substantially below March levels, before the 3% stamp duty hike came into force.

May saw new rental property listings fall, compared to April, in 91% of these towns. Worcester experienced the biggest decrease in rental supply in May, a drop of 42.6% following a near 50% (48.9%) surge in new listings in April. New rental listings were also 14.6% below March levels. Bedford saw a huge 41.7% drop in new rental listings in May compared to April, and 33.5% down on March.