Estate and lettings agent, Barrows and Forrester, recently revealed which parts of Britain are the most in-demand amongst tenants. 

The ratio of available rental properties across 49 English counties that have already been purchased was analysed as part of the research. 

The findings show that on average, 40% of all rental properties listed on the market during the first quarter of 2022 had already been snapped up by tenants.

Rental activity across Britain

With a staggering 69% of all rental properties already let in the first quarter of 2022, West Sussex took the top spot as the area with the highest rental market activity.

Other locations across Britain that also experienced strong demand include Cornwall (65%), Wiltshire (63%), Suffolk (60%), Bristol (59%), the Isle of Wight (57%), Dorset (56%), Shropshire (55%), Rutland (55%) Somerset (54%) and Cambridge (54%).

In contrast, West Yorkshire experienced the lowest amount of rental demand during the first quarter of the year. Only 19% of all listed rental properties were taken by tenants in this part of Britain.

Not so popular locations for rental activity during Q1 also include Leicestershire (22.9%), West Midlands County (23%), the City of London (26%), Merseyside (27%), Lancashire (29%), East Riding (30%), South Yorkshire (31%), Tyne & Wear (31%), and Lincolnshire (32%)

Managing director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, concludes: “We’ve seen a fairly strong start to the year where rental demand levels are concerned, although it’s fair to say that an air of pandemic influence remains despite a return to normality after what has been a strange few years, to say the least.”

“Demand across more urban and industrialised areas of the is still slightly more muted compared to pre-pandemic levels, while country and coastal pockets of the market continue to see very high demand.”

“It will be interesting to see how this balance shifts over the coming months as we expect that demand for rental properties across major cities, in particular, will start to build considerably.”