The private rented sector remains tough for tenants many of whom face a continuing imbalance between supply and demand, industry commentators have warned, despite cooling rent rises.

Latest ONS statistics reveal that rents for new listings increased on average by 5.9% to £1,343 per tenancy during the 12 months to July, down from 6.7% in June.

The regional picture includes average rents increasing to £1,398 (6.0%) in England, £807 (7.9%) in Wales, and £999 (3.6%) in Scotland.

“We are still significantly short of the rental stock needed to meet demand, and that structural gap will keep upward pressure on rents for the foreseeable future,” says Alex Upton of lender Hampshire Trust Bank.

Richard Donnell, Executive Director at Zoopla, says cooling rent rises are down to better access to mortgages helping first time buyers buy homes and easing the demand for rented homes, alongside lower levels of migration.

“Rental growth is slowing and set to move lower over the rest of the year as affordability acts as a growing brake on rental growth,” he says.

Renters’ Right Bill

Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, says: “With the UK Government and the Scottish Government edging towards the final stages of legislating the Renters’ Rights Bill and the Housing (Scotland) Bill respectively, the rental market is about to undergo fundamental changes aimed at strengthening consumer protection.

“We currently stand at a point where, on average, across the UK there are typically six people making an application for every rental property available.

“This represents an extremely unhealthy situation where long-term investment is urgently needed to keep pace with growing demand across nearly all regions.”