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The South West leads the way on rent rises

The South West of England is the leading UK region when it comes to rent increases, as they were 6.6% higher in September than the same month last year.

HomeLet’s Rental Index shows that rents averaged at £902 in the South West in September 2020, up from £846 in September 2019.

There were also strong annual increases in the North East (4.3%), East of England (4.3%) and the North West (4.2%), considering the year we’ve had.

At the other end of the spectrum, Greater London saw rents fall by -2.8%, while they also decreased by -2.4% in Northern Ireland.

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Martin Totty, chief executive at HomeLet, said: “Whilst it’s undoubtedly the case many landlords are being supportive of their tenants and agreeing temporary reductions or deferrals, it will be encouraging for them to see rents agreed on new tenancies, in almost all parts of the country, are continuing to hold up and generally edge forward.

“This is likely because tenant demand remains strong whilst supply may be a little more constrained if some landlords are selling into a stronger sales market, even if that could be a short term phenomenon. It also doesn`t help tenants much if, for them, the prospect of securing first time mortgage finance remains as elusive as ever.

“So, those landlords committed to the sector for the long term and having shown their willingness to confront the multiple headwinds of: taxation change; new regulatory requirements; and, in certain circumstances, longer notice periods to gain possession of their properties, may still be rewarded for their flexibility and their perseverance with reasonable returns on their investment risk.”

BY RYAN BEMBRIDGE

Source: Property Wire

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Rate of rent increases continues to rise

Year on year, the number of tenants experiencing rent hikes continued to rise. Almost a third (31%) of renters saw their payments increase in September 2018, compared to 27% in 2017 and 24% in 2016.

Looking at shorter term trends however this figure is down; in August this year, agents reported a record-high for the number of rent rises for tenants (40%).

Demand from tenants

Demand from prospective tenants fell marginally in September, with the number of house-hunters registered per branch dropping in 63 on average, compared to 64 in August.

Year on year, this is down 20 per cent as there were 79 prospective tenants registered per letting agent branch in September 2017.

Supply of rental stock

As landlords continued to leave the market, the supply of properties letting agents managed dropped to 194 per member branch in September, from 197 in August.

David Cox, ARLA Propertymark Chief Executive, said:

“Although the number of landlords increasing rents for tenants dropped in September, this figure is still alarmingly high, and it continues to rise year on year. Increasing costs and continued regulatory change is pushing buy-to-let (BTL) investors out of the market and deterring new ones from entering. An average of four landlords took their properties off the market per branch in September, up from three this time last year – and as supply falls, competition among tenants increases, which is driving up rent costs. With the Autumn Budget approaching, we hope the Government recognises the importance of increasing supply for tenants and uses it as an opportunity to make the market more attractive for BTL investors.”

Source: Property118