Number of UK letting agents report rent rises up to 14 month high

The number of lettings agents seeing landlords increase rents in the UK increased to 31% in June, the highest level since April 2016, the latest research shows.

At the same time supply increased slightly and demand fell marginally, according to the monthly report from the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA).

The rise in rent rises in June, up from 27% in May, was primarily due to a lack of supply and this means that to stop hikes the market needs to be more balanced, the report suggests.

The report also reveals that the majority of letting agents would like the Government to scrap the impending ban on letting agent fees with 83% backing such a move but at the same time 73% would also like the Government to focus on improving enforcement for rogue agents.

Overall 62% want the Government to regulate the sector, while 26% think that there should provide tax breaks to encourage longer term tenancies.

The data reveals that the number of properties managed per member branch increased marginally in June to 190 from 189 in May and year on year this figure has increased by 8%. In June last year, letting agents managed just 176 properties on average

In June, demand from tenants dropped slightly, with 61 new tenants registered per branch. In April and May, agents registered 65 on average.

‘With the cost of living on the rise and inflationary pressures tightening, the last thing tenants need is for their rents to continue rising. However, the fact that supply looks to be rising, while demand has dropped slightly indicates a move in the right direction for the market,’ said David Cox, ARLA chief executive.

‘Ultimately, to stop rent prices from increasing too much, we need to find the balance between supply and demand. While there’s still a long way to go, if the supply of rental stock continues to increase, and the number of tenants searching for new properties drops off, we’ll be making headway towards achieving this,’ he added.