This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Good news for renters in Britain has come in a new report from the Association of Letting Agents (ARLA) , which suggests the number of letting agents reporting rent increases for tenants has dipped.
For the first time this year, the total of ARLA agents reporting rent rises for tenants has actually fallen from the previous month.
Reductions
The report shows that just 33% of agents recorded rent rises in August, the lowest total since April this year. In addition, this was a 37% drop from the total recorded in July.[1]
However, tenants in the South West of the country are not gaining any benefits. 42% of agents in the region are continuing to see rents rise, up by 4% on the previous month. This is in comparison to just 12% of agents in the North West that have seen a rent increase.[1]
Welsh tenants are also worse off, with the number of landlords increasing rents up to 36%, in comparison to just 11% in July. [1]
Short supply
After a surge in properties made available to rent during the last month, supply has since slowed to the levels seen in June. ARLA agents managed an average of 178 properties per branch during August, in comparison to 189 in July.[1]
In addition, the report found that the total number of house hunters in the rental sector rose marginally in August. During the month, letting agents recorded an average of 36 would-be tenants registered per branch, compared to 35 in July.
Rent rises slowing in some regions
London’s continued struggle for available housing worsened again in the previous month, with 110 properties registered on average per branch. This was down form the 117 recorded on average one month previously.[1]
Sorry state
David Cox, managing director of the Association of Residential Letting Agents, said that, ‘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.’[1]
Cox went on to say that, ‘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, its likely they will go back up again over the next few months.’[1]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/rent-hikes-on-the-decline.html
