"The number of renters reliant on the private rental sector has increased by 132% over the last 30 years and although the ratio of tenants to available properties has improved, there are still more than two tenants for every privately rented property available"
- Adam Piggot - OpenBrix
The latest research by tlyfe suggests that the number of tenants fighting it out per rental property is estimated to increase in 2024, as the rental market imbalance between supply and demand continues to return back towards pre-pandemic highs an issue that is only set to become all the more prominent as a result of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
tlyfe analysed both the level of private rental stock found across England, the estimated number of private tenants and the ratio between the two when it comes to the number of tenants per rental property.
The research shows that, over the last decade, the market has been most overstretched in 2017, when there were an average of 2.36 tenants for every private rental property.
In the run up to the pandemic, this figure eased slightly to 2.28 tenants per property in 2018 and 2019, however, following the outbreak of Covid-19 this figure fell to 2.18 in 2020 and then to 2.15 in 2021.
This drop came despite a number of tenant protections implemented by the Government and as a result of the economic instability many faced having not been able to work due to lockdown restrictions.
But with life having returned to normal post-pandemic, the rental market is once again starting to strain under the pressure of high tenant demand versus the level of available rental homes.
In fact, last year, this ratio had once again increased to 2.2 private tenants for every private rental property and tlyfe forecasts that this ratio is set to climb again this year, with 2.21 private tenants to every one rental property in the private rental sector.
This is despite the fact that the number of private tenants is forecast to fall this year, down 1.6% to 10.687m from 10.860m in 2023.
The issue? Private rental stock is also forecast to fall by a greater margin of 2% to 4.838m homes - a reduction of almost 100,100 rental properties available to tenants.
This reduction in stock has been forecast largely due to Government legislation designed to deter landlords in recent years, with tenants bearing the brunt in the form of higher rents.
This issue only looks set to worsen, with the current Government quick to revive rental reform legislation in the form of the Renters’ Rights Bill, with these further legislative changes expected to deter even more landlords from the sector, leaving tenants with even less choice and facing even higher rents.
CEO of OpenBrix, Adam Piggot, commented: “The rental market is incredibly fast-paced and this is due to the fact that tenant demand has grown substantially whilst the level of available stock simply hasn’t kept pace.
"In fact, the number of renters reliant on the private rental sector has increased by 132% over the last 30 years and although the ratio of tenants to available properties has improved, there are still more than two tenants for every privately rented property available.
"As a result, tenants are struggling to secure a property, with many rental homes being snapped up before they’ve even reached the market. At the same time, a lack of supply means that the cost of renting is climbing ever higher and, rather than address the issue by encouraging landlords to invest, it seems as though the Government is intent on exacerbating the issue by deterring them from the sector.
"Whilst positive in its intentions, the Renters’ Rights Bill looks set to further widen the gap between the supply of rental homes and the level of tenant demand seen across the market, the result of which will be further rent increases and an even tougher task in securing a property for those who can afford it.”
