Landlords boosted with good news
AFS Team·3 February 2014·4 min read
The tenants’ survey was carried out by the National Landlords Association’s (NLA) which asked tenants if they thought their rent was value for money.
Of those who responded, 73% said their rent was ‘very good’ or ‘good’ while 20% said their rent was of ‘poor value’ and 3% said it was very ‘poor’.
Tenants say rents are ‘value for money’
Interestingly, the survey reveals that most landlords have not increased their rents in 2013 as nearly three-quarters (73%) of those responding to the survey said there were paying the same as they were a year ago. Another 3% said they were paying even less than they were 12 months ago.
Chairman of the NLA, Carolyn Uphill, said: “We are pleased to see that so many tenants see their rent as being good value because landlords are criticised, often unjustifiably, for the rising costs of living.
“We have argued that the UK's rent levels are a consequence of a market economy with the determining factor being the chronic undersupply of affordable housing.”
She added that this situation was compounded by the lack of Government effort in building new homes.
Good quality homes to rent boost sector
Ms Uphill went on: “Most landlords provide good quality, affordable homes which make sustainable tenancies the mainstay of their tenant’s rental experience.
“The findings of the survey are encouraging for tenants and demonstrate that rents on private lets in the past year have remained fairly stable.”
Indeed, the latest rental index reveals that the average UK monthly rent increased by 8% in 2013 to £763.
The figures come from Sequence, a firm with 300 branches which includes William H Brown, Barnard Marcus and Fox & Sons, which also show that rents in London have increased by 3% to £1,417 and new tenancies rose by 11%.
The survey also shows that the rental market is currently showing strong growth; it increased by 13% last year.
The firm's head of lettings, Stephen Nation, said: “The demand for rental property appears to be stronger than ever and the growth of rents shows just how far the rental market has come in 2013.
“There is a healthy and balanced rental market which is seeing the number of properties increase by 6% annually and this is met with an 8% rise in new tenant applications.”
Sequence is now predicting that growth will continue through 2014 and reveals that the first two weeks have already recorded a 6.5% increase in new properties for rent.
Mr Nation added: “We predict that transactions will increase significantly through the year as demand keeps with supply.”
