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Private rental market bounces back, report letting agents

Number or tenants looking for rental property increased during November, particularly in the East Midlands.

Nigel Lewis

letting agents

The UK’s lively rental market has rallied again following two consecutive months of decline, with East Midlands letting agents reporting the most registrations in November.

ARLA Propertymark’s Private Rented Sector Report shows that the average number of new prospective tenants registered per branch increased last month to 82, up from October’s figure of 71, while the East Midlands had an average of 134. The number of properties managed per branch across the UK rose from 196 in October to 212 – slightly lower than during October last year when the figure stood at 214.

Scotland had the highest number of properties managed per letting agent branch with 304, however, Wales saw both the lowest number of new tenants (26) and lowest average properties managed per branch (106).

Goodlord’s annual analysis also confirms that the lettings market is in strong health, despite the lockdown and shifting rules around evictions. It reports that demand for rental properties grew throughout the year, peaking in July and August, with voids now 25% lower than at the start of 2021 and rents up 8% at the end of the year.

Rent reductions

Link to Mentoring featurePropertymark adds that the number of tenants experiencing rent increases was 58%, the lowest rate since February, and that the number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions went up from 0.8% in October to 0.9% in November.

CEO Nathan Emerson (pictured) says many landlords are aware of how difficult this year has been for tenants and as a result, it recorded rent increases falling for the third month in a row.

The PRS now faces the reality that many landlords are increasingly considering an exit from the market, he says. “A key focus for the government in the New Year needs to be how to incentivise more landlords to remain in the sector and attract new interest in the market.”

December 21, 2021

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