Strong tenant demand pushes up rents for all property types

Strong tenant demand pushes up rents for all property types

0:01 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago 2

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The demand for rented properties in Britain is driving a surge in rents across the board, according to new research by Zero Deposit.

The tenancy deposit alternative provider has analysed data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), revealing a national average rent increase of 9.1% over the last year.

This growth, however, varies regionally and there is a need for more property diversity.

London and Scotland lead the pack with double-digit growth (11.2% and 10.5% respectively), while the North East experiences a more modest increase of 6.1%.

Renting remains a necessity

The firm’s chief executive, Sam Reynolds, said: “Although renting remains a necessity for a great number of tenants, we’ve seen a distinct lifestyle change in recent years whereby many are renting until far later in life out of choice, due to the greater degree of flexibility it allows them.

“Of course, residing within the rental sector doesn’t put life on hold and as tenants reach certain milestones, such as marriage and children, their rental property requirements evolve.”

He added: “So, it’s hardly surprising that we’ve seen a consistent level of rental price growth across the board over the last year and while flats may be the predominant property type of choice for the majority of renters, there’s certainly a greater degree of demand for larger homes suitable for family life.”

Impact on rent price growth

However, the type of property seems to have less impact on rent price growth than location as the difference between the lowest (detached homes at 8.6%) and highest (flats at 9.9%) growth rates is minimal.

Terraced homes have seen rents rise by 8.5%.

This holds true regionally as well, with most areas showing a gap of less than 1% between property types.

Scotland stands out as the exception with detached homes recording a 12.9% annual increase, while terraced houses grew by just 9.5%.

This 3.3% difference makes Scotland the most uneven rental market in terms of growth.


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Comments

Judith Wordsworth

10:53 AM, 4th June 2024, About 4 weeks ago

Renting has always been a necessity and will continue to be so as the “young “ have been fleeing the nest earlier than pre ‘70s when they flew usually on marriage or serious relationship or in a job that paid enough to save up for while living “at home” and then buy a property.
It’s only since the end of WWII that renting for life hasn’t been the norm.
In the late ‘70s mortgage interest was 15%, mortgages were 3x main earner and 1x lower earner, if you were lucky. Not like the 6x joint income of the 2010s. Women couldn’t get a sole mortgage without a male guarantor, usually their father, even if they could afford the repayments until nearly the end of the 1990s.
Supply will always have an effect on rental prices. Normal supply and demand. Doesn’t matter if it’s rental property or flour.
The more of us who vacate the PRS the more rents will increase - unless the next Government caps them. If they do introduce rent caps and continue to increase EPC requirements, allow further selective licensing, give tenants more “rights” over property they do not own, then supply will decrease even further.
Labour aren’t interested in property ownership. Are actively against landlords and dangerously have stated they will interfere constitutionally in the “independent’ judiciary by stating they “will instruct” judges to instigate a hardship test when PRS landlords wish to sell/move into their property/ move a family member in. ie who will be in greater hardship if we (the judges) grant possession of the property to the landlord? Well we know the answer to that one!

Rob Crawford

8:43 AM, 12th June 2024, About 3 weeks ago

Yes, there will be in increase in demand and like any industry it will drive up rents. But let's be clear. The reason for this relative increase in rent is because Government and Local Authority high risk policies are driving landlords out of the PRS. The only way to fix this surge in rents is to retract the threatened introduction of these unnecessary policies. This will dampen the mass exodus of landlords leaving and ensure rental property availability increases.

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