Tenants are anticipating further rent rises, with one in six expecting rents to go up by more than 10% over the next 12 months.
A new Rightmove survey found that over half (53%) of all tenants expect rents to rise, including 17% that predict rents will be more than 10% higher.
Both figures are the highest Rightmove has recorded in the last two years of its regular consumer surveys.
Tenants’ sentiment is also changing. In Rightmove’s last survey, half of tenants (50%) were forecasting rental price stability in Q3, but now just a third hold this view (35%).
Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “Tenants’ pain is a landlord’s gain.”
He added: “In spite of the rising rent environment of the last two years, the majority of tenants still expect to pay even more a year from now.
“The rental ceiling of what some tenants can afford to pay appears to have some headroom left, despite their disposable incomes being squeezed from all sides.
“But there are consequences to an over-inflated rental bubble. Overstretching tenants’ finances beyond what they can sustainably afford will lead to a damaging growth in arrears and void periods.”
The survey also found that while 14% of investor landlords are expecting to buy in the next year, this is only just up on the 11% recorded a year ago – indicating an ongoing lack of rental supply.
A total of 5,356 responses were received to the survey.
.png)
Comments