LATEST: Letting agents report ‘rapid rise’ in tenants seeking properties to rent

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The number of home-hunting tenants has continued to climb rapidly this year while the number of available homes to rent has come to a standstill.

Propertymark’s latest housing insight report reveals that since February, letting agents have seen an 88% increase in new tenants wanting to register, reaching a new peak of 147 in September, despite rising rents.

In contrast, each member branch reports having just 11 properties available since June. This means an average Propertymark letting agent would have had one property available for 13 new registrants in September – and that’s on top of those already registered.

Rising rents

It found that 74% of agents reported month-on-month rent prices increasing last month, down slightly from 82% in July but still much higher than the pre-pandemic average for September of 34%.

Propertymark CEO Nathan Emerson (pictured) says the UK sector’s reform continues to affect the sentiment of landlords who have also been hit with rising costs, impacting their annual yields. As a result, the trade body believes there will be no end to affordability issues until many more homes are added to the market.

“The pressure is on for private landlords, and the situation is not improving,” adds Emerson. “Raising interest rates, increasing legislation and tax burdens mean that many landlords are faced with increasing their rent to cover their rising costs or to cut their losses and sell.

“Landlords have been demonised recently, but in truth they provide homes for those who can’t be served by social housing or afford to buy.”

Read more: Complete 2022/2023 tax guide for landlords.

Pic credit: TheConnorFinn/Twitter

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