Tenant Demand Leads To Rent Rise Record
Growing tenant demand means that more renters are experiencing rent increases which are now at their highest ever, one analysis reveals.
The findings from Arla Propertymark show that across the UK, the number of tenants who saw rent rises increased in August.
They say that 64% of letting agents had a landlord put up rents, compared to July's figure of 63%.
The proportion of landlords who are increasing rents is, year-on-year, up from August 2017's figure of 35% and August 2018's figure of 40%.
The number of properties being managed by each letting agent branch increased from 184 on average, to 197 in August. This means that supply has risen by 4% compared to August last year.
'Not enough to counterbalance the rapid rise of rents'
The chief executive of Arla Propertymark, David Cox, said: "While it's a positive to see that supply has increased, it's not enough to counterbalance the rapid rise of rents, which have now reached a record high for the fourth month in a row.
"Two-in-three agents are reporting that landlords are raising rents, which is a big increase compared with the 40% of agents who say they witnessed rises in August 2018."
He added that one impact from the Tenant Fees Act will see landlords continuing to put rents up to cover the additional costs they now have to pay.
Section 21 abolition will see PRS shrink
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the abolition of Section 21 notices could see the private rental sector shrink by up to 20%.
The findings from the National Landlords Association (NLA) means that the sector will be hit hard.
The research was carried out by Capital Economics who say there would be a reduction of 59% in housing available to tenants on Universal Credit or housing benefit.
They also say there could be a potential increase in rents of 13%.
‘Realities of the private rental sector’
The NLA's director of policy and practice, Chris Norris, said: "The government has failed to recognise the realities of the private rental sector in proposing to abolish Section 21.
"A government that thinks it is appropriate to risk losing 1 million rental homes when there's a housing crisis needs to reassess its priorities.”
He added: “The government should be looking to incentivise and support good landlords to provide homes and remain active for those who are needing them rather than making it harder with landlords exiting the market."
