RENT HIKES HIT 14 MONTH HIGH

  • 31 per cent of letting agents saw rents rise for tenants in June, up from 27 per cent in May
  • Letting agents would like the new Government to focus on improving enforcement for rogue agents, and regulating the sector
  • Rent stock increased marginally last month, while demand dropped slightly
  • ARLA Propertymark issues June PRS Report

ARLA Propertymark (Association of Residential Letting Agents) is today issuing its June Private Rented Sector (PRS) Report.1                                                               

Rent prices

  • The number of agents who saw landlords increasing rent costs for tenants rose to 31 per cent in June, up from just 27 per cent in May
  • This is the highest level since April 2016, when 31 per cent of agents reported rent hikes too

Agent demands for the new Government

  • Predominantly, letting agents would like the Government to scrap the impending ban on letting agent fees (83 per cent) – however three quarters (73 per cent) would also like the Government to focus on improving enforcement for rogue agents
  • More than three in five (62 per cent) want the new Government to regulate the sector, while a quarter (26 per cent) think they should provide tax breaks to encourage longer term tenancies

Rental stock

  • The number of properties managed per member branch increased marginally in June, to 190 – up from 189 in May
  • Year on year, this figure has increased by eight per cent. In June last year, letting agents managed just 176 properties on average

Demand from tenants

  • In June, demand from tenants dropped slightly, with 61 new tenants registered per branch. In April and May, agents registered 65 on average.2
David Cox, ARLA Propertymark Chief Executive, said:

“With the cost of living on the rise and inflationary pressures tightening, the last thing tenants need is for their rents to continue rising. However, the fact that supply looks to be rising, while demand has dropped slightly indicates a move in the right direction for the market. Ultimately, to stop rent prices from increasing too much, we need to find the balance between supply and demand. While there’s still a long way to go, if the supply of rental stock continues to increase, and the number of tenants searching for new properties drops off, we’ll be making headway towards achieving this.”

Kindly shared by  ARLA Propertymark