When surveyed by Propertymark, 73% of agents say they have seen an increase in the number of tenants renewing their tenancies over the past 12 months - suggesting many tenants are preferring to stay put rather than move. This could be explained by the rising demand for rental properties, as an average of 127 new applicants were registered by each member branch surveyed in July, a number which has steadily been rising since February.
Despite growing numbers of prospective tenants, Propertymark members reported having the same number of properties available on average (11) in July as they did the previous month, suggesting demand is continuing to outstrip rental supply.
The result is another record month for rental prices, which rose again in July.
Nathan Emerson, CEO of Propertymark, comments:
“The private rental market continues to be battered by the perfect storm of high demand, low availability and affordability issues that shows no sign of easing.
“Governments across the UK are all engaged in a tenant-focussed reform of their private rental sectors. To boost supply, they also need to consider the heavy tax burden on property owners, the impact of more profitable and less regulated short-term lets, many of which stand empty for part of the year, and the lack of new homes being built to cope with the varied needs of a growing population.”
