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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Rents increase as landlords ‘continue exiting the market’

The number of tenants experiencing rent increases in February rose to the highest figure since August, as supply of new property to let dropped again, according to ARLA Propertymark’s latest PRS report.

Some 34% of letting agents saw landlords increase rents last month, up from 26% a month earlier, ARLA Propertymark found.

This is the highest figure recorded since August, when 40% of tenants had their rents increased, the highest on record.

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The figures also reveal that the supply of rental stock remains more or less unchanged, with 197 properties managed per branch in February, with no new properties coming onto the market. 

Demand from prospective tenants dipped, with the number of house-hunters registered per branch falling to 65 on average3, compared to 73 in January.

David Cox, ARLA Propertymark chief executive, commented: “According to data from the Office for National Statistics4, private rent costs rose by one per cent in the year to February, and our data shows that the number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions fell.

“We warned this would happen, as landlords continue exiting the market and increasing legislation deters new ones from entering.

“The Chancellor’s Spring Statement included a number of initiatives aimed at growing housing stock for buyers, but it didn’t offer any solutions to increase the supply of properties in the private rented sector.

“Unless the government commits to making the prospect of investing in the PRS more attractive, and introduces measures to increase supply, tenants will only continue to feel the burn.”

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