New rental stock accounts for just 16 per cent according to fresh figures released about the lettings market.

Property company Ocasa has analysed the level of new rental stock reaching the market across Britain and where this level of new homes equates to the smallest proportion of total rental properties, areas by area.

In the last 14 days, just over 22,000 new rental properties have reached the market to boost rental property availability: however, this rental market stock boost accounts for just 16 per cent of the currently listed rental homes on the market. 

On a regional level, the greatest scarcity of newly-listed rental properties is found in the West Midlands, where fresh rental stock accounts for just 11.7 per cent of total available rental properties. And in both the East Midlands and Wales, newly listed rental stock accounts for just 12 per cent of all homes available to rent. 

The percentage of new rental listings entering the market also sits below the national average in Yorkshire & Humber (13 per cent), the North East (14 per cent), North West (14 per cent), and South East (15 per cent).

When analysing the data at major city level, it’s Leeds where tenants are facing the smallest proportion of rental stock at just six per cent. In Birmingham, new rental stock currently accounts for just eight per cent of total properties available, climbing to nine per cent in Nottingham, Liverpool, Newcastle and Sheffield. 

Ocasa marketing director Jack Godby states: “We are entering what could be a very difficult year for tenants. Not only do they face the tough task of accumulating a sizable deposit in order to secure a rental property, but the rising cost of living is putting a further squeeze on their finances on a long term basis. 

“That is, of course, if they can find a property in the first place, with competition already extremely high across many areas of the market. Unfortunately, the government’s best efforts to improve tenant welfare simply haven’t helped as the focus has very much been centred on the financial returns available to landlords, not the tenants themselves. 

“So it’s hardly surprising that more and more landlords are choosing to exit the sector, with the level of new rental properties entering the market simply not sufficient enough to meet current demand. This reduction in stock will only hurt tenants further as a supply demand imbalance causes rental prices to continue to climb ever higher.”