Rental Crisis - it’s the government’s fault...

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06 October 2023

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By Graham Norwood

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Rental Crisis - it’s the government’s fault

Failed government policies are to blame for the chronic supply shortage in the private rental sector.

That’s the view of the National Residential Landlords Association in response to shocking Rightmove figures suggesting that there are 25 prospective tenants for each available property coming to the lettings market.

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle says: “Tenants are bearing the brunt of the supply crisis in the rental market. This is a result of failed Government policies.

“Throughout the Conservative conference ministers said they wanted landlords to have the confidence to stay in the market. However, warm words will achieve nothing without policies to make this happen.

“The government must take action to stem the loss of rental properties across the country. The Treasury needs encourage investment by reversing the damaging tax hikes which penalise landlords who provide much-needed housing. It’s also crucial that the government makes clear assurances that landlords who make legitimate possession claims will not become mired in a broken court system once section 21 evictions are abolished.”

Rightmove’s data, released this week., suggests letting agents are currently managing 25 email and phone enquiries on average for every property they have to let across Britain.

This is more than triple the eight they were receiving on average at this time in 2019 and is five more than in May of this year.

Highlighting the current gap between supply and demand, the number of available properties to rent has decreased by 35 per cent compared with this time in 2019, though it has improved by 14 per cent compared with last year.

The biggest imbalance between supply and demand across Britain is in two-bedroom semi-detached houses, followed by two-bedroom terraced houses, with smaller property types under more pressure from the demand and supply gap than larger properties.

The average advertised rent for new properties on the rental market hits another new national record of £1,278 pcm outside of London. This is the 15th consecutive quarter that average advertised rents have risen to a new record, with average rents now 10 per cent higher than this time last year.

The average advertised rent in London has also risen to a new record of £2,627 pcm, and is now 12.1 per cent higher than last year.

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