The number of London landlords exiting the market last month was a whopping 125 per cent higher than the national average.

The figure comes from ARLA Propertymark based on its monthly snapshot of the market conducted amongst members between March 4 and March 18.

“Back in December, more than three quarters of ARLA Propertymark members predicted that the number of landlords operating in the private rented sector would decline this year, as they are driven out by rising costs” says David Cox, ARLA’s chief executive.

“This trend is snowballing in London where, due to the capital’s higher costs, landlords are struggling to make ends meet. This means tenants will continue bearing the brunt, as competition for good quality properties increases, and rent costs rise.”

Earlier this week London and the south east of England were identified by lettings agency Your Move as areas where rental income for landlords was smallest.

While the average return on properties in the north east of England hit 5.0 per cent last month, London investors were at the other end of the league table with a typical property in the capital yielding a mere 3.2 per cent.