New records galore as rental market boom continues

ARLA Propertymark says the number of new prospective tenants continued to rise in July, hitting the highest number on record.

The average letting agent branch registered 97 new tenants, compared to 79 on average in June. This breaks the previous record of 88 in January of this year.

The number of rental properties available in July also continued to rise, with the number of properties reaching an all-time high for the month with an average of 208 managed per letting agent branch. 

This is an increase from 200 in June and tops the previous record of 192 in July 2017. 

The average tenancy length was also at an all-time high in July with tenants staying in their properties for 21 months. 

Regionally, this figure was highest in the South East with tenancies lasting 24 months.

“We have seen a record-breaking level of rental stock, and demand from tenants continues to grow, providing a positive outlook for the future of the private rented sector” says Phil Keddie, the ARLA president.

He continues: “For the market to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that landlords have good communication with their tenants, and that they continue to keep paying their rents, especially in light of rule changes and announcements impacting notice periods and additional government financial support being offered to tenants and landlords.”