x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.

TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Buy-to-let rents in summer slump

The number of landlords increasing rents for tenants fell in August, the first drop this year, new figures show.

Only one in three agents reported an increase in August, the lowest since April this year.

Available houses to rent also dropped in August, according to the latest private rental sector report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

Advertisement

The number of ARLA agents seeing rent hikes for tenants fell compared to July, although rental growth was healthier in some regions than others.

In the South West, 42% agents in the region continued to see rent prices hiked, up four percentage points from last month. This is compared to only 12% of agents in the North West.

Properties available to rent in London continued to fall in August, pushing demand for housing even harder in the capital and putting further pressure on house-hunters.

With 110 properties registered per branch, compared to 117 in July, the task of finding a property in the capital’s rental sector is becoming increasingly difficult.

David Cox, ARLA managing director, said: “Our findings this month are good news for the majority of tenants, as less are experiencing rent hikes.

“However, a third of agents are still seeing landlords pushing rents up,  which reflects the sorry state of affairs in the market.

“With increasing pressure on the dwindling supply of housing, and the number of house-hunters growing, rent increases are unfortunately very common – as one in three tenants are experiencing.

“Despite the fact they have fallen this month, it’s likely they will go back up again over the next few months.”

icon

Please login to comment

MovePal MovePal MovePal
sign up