Rents rising as landlords exit the market and stock contracts, says latest report
Government's attempt to make investing in the private rental market more expensive and bound by red tape are having the predicted effect.
Industry predictions that the government’s assault on the private rental sector will push up rents are coming to fruition, Zoopla’s latest rental sector report reveals.
Its quarterly report says rents are rising by 2.6% annually pushing up the average rent to a three-year high of £886.
This has been driven by a 4% contraction in supply within the private rental market over the past two years, while demand increased by 8% last year alone.
Figures for London are even wider apart and somewhat alarming; Zoopla says rents are rising there by 2.8% a year but that supply has contracted by 19% since 2017.
Although contraction within the private rental market is concentrated in London and the South East, there are plenty of cities outside of the Home Counties bubble where rents are rising fast.
These include Nottingham, Bristol, York, Leeds, Preston, Stoke, Leicester, Edinburgh, Norwich, Liverpool and Bournemouth all of which have seen rents rising faster than the UK average of 2.6%.
Only three cities have experienced lowering private rents; Coventry, Middlesbrough and Aberdeen.
Industry comment
“The introduction of the tenant fees ban at the end of May resulted in a change in market seasonality as some customers chose to delay moving until 1st June 2019 or thereafter,” says Paul Chapman (left), Countrywide’s National Managing Director, Sales and Lettings.
“Tenant demand has been strong with an even busier summer than usual continuing into Q4.
“Stock availability continues to be a challenge with some landlords experiencing an increase in rental price and shorter void periods, both of which go some way towards offsetting the increased costs as the requirement to comply with additional legislation continues.”