Rent Rises Boost Rental Market For Landlords
Landlords will be pleased to hear that further rent rises have been recorded to help boost the attractiveness of the rental sector.
According to the latest index from HomeLet, the average rent now being paid per month in the UK is £967. Without London rents being included, the average is £797.
That's a rise of 2.2% over the same period in 2018.
The average rent for tenants in London has also risen by 3.3% over the past year and now stands at £1,694.
All regions saw rents rise
Indeed, all of the regions monitored have seen rents rise between September last year and August.
Those that saw rises of more than 3% include the North West, the South West and the East Midlands.
However, the region with the highest increase with a healthy 4.4% rise was for landlords in the North West. That compares with the UK's inflation rate of 1.7%.
The regions with property rises of more than 2% include the West Midlands, Scotland, Wales and also Yorkshire and Humberside.
The regions with the worst performance include Northern Ireland on 1.4%, the East of England with 1.3% and rents in the South East rose by just 0.2%.
Newly agreed rents fell
The figures also reveal that on a monthly basis, newly agreed rents fell by 0.3% and with London rents excluded, the figure was 0.6%.
Also, the house price index published by Nationwide has revealed that in September, house prices rose by just 0.2% - that's a fall from August's figure of 0.6%. Nationwide says that this is now the 10th month running that annual house price growth is less than 1%.
Scotland's landlords face new rules
The information a landlord in Scotland is required to provide when registering or renewing their application on the national landlord register has now changed.
Since 16 September, landlords must declare they are complying with various duties including providing their renter with a copy of the EPC and that their rental home is meeting the Tolerable Standard.
These new rules cover all renewals and registrations and those who are currently registered, with registration being valid for three years, do not have to give the extra information until their renewal date.
Daryl McIntosh of ARLA Propertymark in Scotland said: "We welcome the additional requirements to confirm their properties are safe and habitable and new landlord who is self-managing their portfolio may not be aware of the legislation’s requirements which may lead them to utilising the services of an agent."
