Number of tenants experiencing rent increases fell for second month in a row
The number of tenants experiencing rent increases fell for the second month in a row, reveals the ARLA Propertymark October Private Rented Sector (PRS) report.
Headlines:
- Only a third of agents witnessed landlords increasing rents in October
- Number of new prospective tenants at an all-time high for the month of October
- Number of properties managed per branch increased
Only a third (37 per cent) of agents witnessed landlords increasing rent compared to 40 per cent in September and 48 per cent in August. This is 13 per cent lower than in October 2019, when the figure stood at 50 per cent.
Figure 1: Number of tenants experiencing rent hikes year-on-year in October
The number of new prospective tenants rose to the highest on record2 for the month of October, with an average of 88 per branch. Regionally, the West Midlands had the highest number of new tenants registered per branch, with an average of 173, and Scotland had the lowest figure with an average of just 30 new prospective tenants registered per branch.
Figure 2: Demand from new tenants by region in October
The number of properties managed per letting agent branch rose from 193 in September to 213 in October. Year-on-year this is an all-time high for the month of October, with the previous record being 201 in 2019.
The number of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties fell from five per branch in September, to four in October.
Angela Davey, President, ARLA Propertymark, said:
“This month’s figures are testament to the fact that letting agents are continuing to support landlords and their tenants during the pandemic, with rent increases continuing to fall for a second month in a row. As the UK experiences continued lockdown measures and regional restrictions, it is essential that tenancies are maintained to keep the rent flowing as the stability of the private rental sector is key to the economy’s bounce back from the impact of Covid-19.”
Kindly shared by ARLA Propertymark
Main article photograph courtesy of Pixabay
