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Fewer EU nationals looking to rent in UK following Brexit vote
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
New figures have revealed that there has been a sharp fall in the number of EU nationals looking to move to Britain following the result of last year’s referendum.
This in turn is putting downward pressure on rental demand in many parts of the UK, according to data released by SpareRoom.co.uk.
Referendum Changes
In the lead up to the EU referendum, the number of EU nationals looking to move into the UK was up by 14.7%. However, during the 10 months following the decision to leave the European Union, that percentage fell to just 4.35%.
Further data from the flatshare website shows that the UK’s decision to exit the EU has led to a significant decline in people from Eastern Europe looking to rent in Britain. This was fronted by an 8% drop in those coming from Slovakia, 5.54% from Poland and 3.18% from Hungary.
Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.co.uk, observed: ‘With so much uncertainty over what Brexit really means, it’s no surprise to see interest in moving to the UK from EU countries in decline. Until people know how their freedom of movement and right to reside will be affected it’s hard for them to make long term decisions.’[1]
‘Key Eastern European countries like Poland, Slovakia and Romania, which have traditionally supplied large number of workers to the UK, are showing the biggest drops in traffic,’ he continued.[1]
Fewer EU nationals looking to rent in UK following Brexit vote
Immigrants
What’s more, the data show that the result of last year’s referendum is putting off a number of immigrants from outside of Europe coming into the UK.
Growth in non-UK traffic in the 10 months following the Brexit vote stood at 8.73%, in comparison to 19.65% in the period before.
In addition, the UK saw a fall in interest from the USA.
Hutchinson concluded by saying: ‘We also saw a spike in interest in moving to the UK from the USA in the weeks surrounding the presidential election last year. While it’s probably too simplistic to entirely put that down to anti-Trump sentiment, the timing suggests that’s a factor.’[1]
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/6/fewer-eu-nationals-renting-property-in-the-eu-flatshare-data-suggests
