9^th Jul 2018

More renters throughout May had to contend with having their rents increased, even though there was an increase in the number of available 'homes' in the sector.

An industry association for agent's latest PRS report states that in April 26% of tenants had their rents increased but in May 28% of tenants had to pay more, the highest it had been since August 2017 when 35% of landlords increased their tenants' rents.

The report also found that during May the average number of rental homes per members' branch available to let was 186, an increase of 4% from April.

The chief executive of the association, David Cox, , said: “There’s a chronic supply shortage in the rental market at the moment, and while it’s positive that the number of properties available to rent seems to be rising, this is just a drop in the ocean; it isn’t nearly enough to fix the market for tenants.

“Competition is getting more and more fierce, and with legislative changes hitting landlords from all sides, the cost of renting is only increasing.

“The government’s recent announcement around licensing changes for landlords is a prime example; licensing doesn’t work and it never has done. It means councils will spend time and energy administering schemes, rather than concentrating on increasing housing stock in their areas, and enforcing against rogue, criminal landlords.”

Surprisingly according to the report, member branches in May experienced a major fall (17%) in prospective tenants from 72 in the previous month down to just 60, which was the lowest since December 2017 when there were 59 per branch.

Cox continued: “Coupled with the gradual removal of mortgage interest relief, new energy standards for landlords and the ever-increasing fees for these schemes, landlords are being expected to bear more and more costs; which is probably why the number of landlord leaving the market has remained at the all-time high we saw last month.

“We’re all striving for the same end goal of improving the private rental sector for consumers, but the only thing which will truly create a better – fairer – market, is a dramatic increase in supply.”

News Archive »