The increasing volume of bureaucracy, legal and compliance checks imposed on letting agents is beginning to frustrate customers.

A survey of 1,000 tenants found that 60% ranked the ability to find a suitable rental property as the most problematic part of securing a place to live; once they have managed to do so, the laborious application process and the paperwork involved, such as ID checks and referencing, ranked as the next toughest aspect of securing their rental property.

Overall some 40% of renters found the process of securing a rental property difficult, 30% rated it as average at best, with just 12% stating it was an easy experience.

Some 44% of respondents stated that it took them more than four weeks to secure a rental property once they had begun their search. A further 22% stated that it took between two to four weeks.

The survey was conducted by lettings platform Dwelly. A spokesperson says: “The rental market landscape has evolved dramatically over the years but despite the many improvements made, many renters continue to find the process of securing a property challenging and for the same reasons they did 20-odd years ago.

“Demand for rental homes has exploded in recent years as soaring house prices have forced many to rent for longer  … we’ve seen the level of paperwork and compliance requirements increase, which have put further pressure on letting agents who are already dealing with a high volume of applicants. The result of this operation strain is a perception amongst renters that letting agents aren’t on the ball and are poor at communicating, when the reality is they simply don’t have enough hours in the day.

“For today’s letting agents, the continued adoption and evolution of technology to help ease operational requirements remains of vital importance, as it not only allows them to operate better as a business, but it drastically improves the customer service levels they can provide to renters and landlords alike.