Taylor Scott International News
The number of letting agents in the UK reporting rent increases for tenants has fallen, with only 33% putting up rents, the lowest amount since April. For the first time this year, the number of lettings agents seeing rent hikes for tenants has decreased from the previous month, with just 33% of landlords putting up rents in August, according to the latest survey. Data from the monthly Private Rental Sector report from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) shows that it has dropped from 37% in the previous month and is the lowest since April this year. But it is not a universal trend. Tenants in the South West are not benefiting with 42% of agents in the region continuing to see rent prices hiked, up 4% from the previous month. This is compared to only 12% of agents in the North West who have witnessed a rent increase. In Wales, tenants are worse off too. The number of landlords putting rents up for their tenants has increased threefold from July. This month 36% of letting agents in Wales saw increases, up 25% from July when just 11% agents reported rent hikes. The report also shows that after a spike in the number of houses available to rent last month, supply has fallen back down to levels seen in June 2015. ARLA letting agents managed an average 178 properties per branch in August, compared to 189 in July. The report found the number of house hunters in the rental sector increased marginally in August. Letting agents reported an average 36 prospective tenants registered per branch, compared to 35 in July. The number of properties available to rent in London continued to fall in August, pushing demand for housing even harder in the capital and putting further pressure on house hunters. With 110 properties registered per branch, compared to 117 in July, the task of finding a property in the capital’s rental sector is becoming increasingly difficult. ‘Our findings this month are good news for the majority of tenants, as less are experiencing rent hikes. However, a third of agents are still seeing landlords pushing rents up, which reflects the sorry state of affairs in the market,’ said David Cox, ARLA managing director. ‘With increasing pressure on the dwindling supply of housing, and the number of house hunters growing, rent increases are unfortunately very common as one in three tenants are experiencing. Despite the fact they have fallen this month, it’s likely they will go back up again over the next few months,’ he added. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
