A recent survey claims that once again private renters demand has broken previous records with levels at an all-time high.

Image credit: Pexels

Landlords across and England and Wales took part in the survey which found 57% had seen an increase in renters demand for homes which increased in Q3 by nearly 20% per cent from the previous three months’ 39%.

The research from a trade body found that when the first pandemic lockdown came into force last year in Q2, only 14% of landlords stated they had seen an increase in renter demand. However the market has made a significant recovery this year and even landlords with properties in the capital have seen a rise in demand with workers returning to London.

In outer London 68% of landlords stated a major increase in demand, 25 per cent higher than in Q3 2020. In Central London 54% stated they had seen an increased demand up from 16 per cent during the same period in 2020.

In the South West, landlords experiencing the tenant demand increase in Q3 was at the highest with a resounding 79%; runners up was the South East with 74 per cent, followed by Wales with 73 per cent and 71 per cent in the West Midlands.

But despite record levels of tenant demand, the percentage of landlords planning to take on more properties is exactly the same as those who will be selling up or reducing the number of properties with both cases at 19%.

In light of this unsurprisingly the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has forewarned that because of the  “mismatch between supply and demand” rents will increase.

A spokesperson for the trade body, said: “As demand picks up following lockdown measures we need a stimulus to support responsible landlords to provide the homes to rent we vitally need. Without this, it will ultimately be tenants that suffer as a result of less choice, higher rents and the resulting difficulties they will encounter when looking to become homeowners.”