Rents tiptoe back up across the country

Friday 18th May 2012

Rents have risen across the country, including London, two new reports have said.

The LSL report says that rents rose in April for the first time in three months. A Knight Frank report says rents rose in central London for the first time in six months.

Although Knight Frank says the rise was just 0.1%, it followed falls totalling 0.8%. But the agents warned that London landlords should not expect much in the way of further rises, with rental supply in the capital ahead of demand.

Knight Frank said that new property instructions bounced up 56% inApril, but new tenant registrations were up just 5%. It blames the fall-off in demand for a lull in City employment, and restricted budgets, both individual and corporate.

The company predicts growth in rent of just 1% this year in central London.

The LSL report, also out this morning, says average rents across England and Wales rose by 0.5% in April, to stand at £709 per month – 2.4% higher than  year ago.

But LSL warned that rental arrears are sharply up.

In total, unpaid rent in April amounted to £306m, a 14% increase from March. In total, 9.9% of all rent was laid or unpaid at the end of April, up from 8,7% in March.

David Brown, LSL’s commercial manager said: “April’s rise should serve as a warnng that landlords cannot afford to take their eye off the ball. Despite several month dips this year, rents are still rising at a faster rate than wages annually.

“With a faltering economy and further public sector job losses to come, an increasing number of rented households will see their finances stretched.”