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Letting agents report record demand for rental properties during April

Branches tell ARLA that all-time record highs of tenant registration and properties under management were recorded last month.

Nigel Lewis

letting agents

Demand for rental properties hit a new high for the month of April with an average of 82 new prospective tenants registering at letting agents.

Despite falling slightly from March’s figure of 84, this is still a record, says ARLA Propertymark, as the previous April high was in 2018 when 72 prospective tenants registered per branch.

Its latest private rented sector report shows that regionally, Wales had the highest number of new tenants registered, with an average of 133 per branch, while Scotland’s agents saw the fewest, with only an average of 26 new prospective tenants.

The number of tenants experiencing rent increases jumped in April as 67% of agents saw landlords increasing rents compared to 60% in March. Year-on-year this figure has more than doubled since April 2019 when the figure stood at 33%. Fewer tenants successfully negotiated rent reductions in April, down from 1.7% in March to 1.3% – the lowest number recorded since January 2020.

The number of properties managed per branch rose from 193 in March to 201 in April; year-on-year this is marginally less than during April 2019 when the figure stood at 202.

Mark Hayward, Propertymark’s chief policy advisor (pictured), says the continued unprecedented demand from tenants reflects a booming rental market.

He adds: “We will be keeping a close eye on the sector in the coming months as the current strength of the sales market may be off-putting to private rental investors, and talk of a potential impending taxation on property will be a concern for all types of landlords, but ultimately it is positive to see rent continuing to flow this month.”

May 27, 2021

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