This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The latest Buy-to-Let Index from Your Move and Reeds Rains shows that rents in England and Wales dropped fractionally during the last month.
A fall of just 0.1% saw average rents now stand at £803 per month.
Arrears
Data from the report shows that annual rental increase slowed to 5.5%, down from 6.8% on the previous month. With this said and despite rents slowing in London and the South East, record rates were recorded in the Midlands and the East of England.
Moreover, rent arrears rose to 9.9% of all rent payable during August, a rise from 8.4% recorded during July. What’s more, this was a substantial rise from the 8% recorded in the same month last year.[1]
Rents dropping but arrears are rising
‘Rents are being bid up by the vast majority of tenants, many of whom are seeing their incomes rise substantially for the first time in many years,’ noted a spokesperson for the agencies. ‘However, compared to rapidly growing demand, there is a real shortage of available properties to let across the country. This means that inevitably, rising rents will not be good news for everyone,’ they continued.[1]
The spokesperson concluded by saying, ‘we will be releasing new, separate figures on the most serious arrears very soon. However, there is a need for action. This involves more investment from landlords in properties to let-and action from the government to allow the building of more new homes of all tenures.’[1]
[1] https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/9/rents-dipping-and-arrears-rising-say-letting-agencies
