Three in ten (32%) letting agents reported that rents increased in April.
ARLA’s monthly report for April found that tenants living in the North West were the most affected by monthly rent increases with 46% of landlords reporting an increase in the region.
But while the election result was generally seen as good news for landlords, the number of investors putting rental properties up for sale has increased.
ARLA agents in London saw the number of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties double between March and April – rising from three to six properties on average per branch. Letting agents in Scotland saw an increase from four to seven properties per branch.
ARLA managing director David Cox said: “It is interesting that we have seen an increase in the amount of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties in the last month, which is likely to have been a result of political uncertainty. We know that Labour’s plans within the private rental sector were unpopular for many landlords and agents, so this increase in those selling their buy-to-let properties may have been a knee jerk reaction to the possibility of Labour’s proposals coming in to practice.”
Cox said it will be interesting to see what happens in the market in the next few months following the election result and whether the market will see an increase in the supply of rented accommodation. This is expected to be boosted as a result of the Conservative’s promise to build 200,000 new starter homes offered at 20% discount to first-time buyers.
“This policy will help first-time buyers make that leap onto the housing ladder and as a result this will hopefully free up rental property,” said Cox.
