Buy-to-let landlords in England and Wales are facing void periods of just 11 days on average between tenancies, which is the lowest level ever recorded by Goodlord. 

The property technology company found that landlords in the South West had the shortest wait for new tenants in August at only five days, eclipsing the region’s previous year-to-date low of nine days. 

This was despite a significant increase in average monthly rents in the South West, with costs in the region rising by 20% to £1,126 per calendar month (pcm), up from £942pcm in July. Last month’s figures were well above the South West year-to-date average rental cost of £938pcm.

The North East also experienced record low void periods in August, dropping to just seven days on average. During the same period, the average monthly rent increased by 36% month-on-month to £897pcm.

In contrast, the longest void period was in the West Midlands where it took 15 days to fill a vacant property in August. But this was well below the year-to-date average for the region of 24 days.

Goodlord’s figures are based on tenancy agreements executed on its platform during the month.

Following a downturn in prices during July, August saw average rents increase in all but one of the eight regions monitored by Goodlord, taking the average rental costs for the UK to a year-to-date high of £1,031pcm.

London continued to have the highest average monthly rent in August at £1,684pcm, an increase of 5% on the previous month. The lowest average monthly rent was in the West Midlands at £722pcm, an increase of 2% on the previous month.

Three regions showed double-digit percentage increases on the previous month – the North East (36%), South West (20%) and East Midlands (16%).

Tom Mundy, COO at Goodlord, commented: “August is always a busy month for the industry and these numbers demonstrate a rising demand for high-quality rental properties across the UK. 

“Void periods were at year-to-date lows across almost every region, something which will be welcomed by landlords and agents alike as the industry finds equilibrium following the tenant fee ban. 

“We’ve also seen big jumps in average rental costs throughout a range of regions, demonstrating the release of pent up demand amongst tenants and a slew of higher value properties hitting the market as more homeowners look to the rental market against a backdrop of stagnant property prices.”