Reduced asking rents attract tenants back to London’s prime market

Central London’s prime rental market is witnessing a wave of enquiries from tenants wanting to strike a deal according to a leading agency. 

Chestertons says that compared to Q1 2020, the first three months of this year have seen a 30 per cent uplift in demand for London’s top-end rentals. 

The agency recently agreed lets on a number of high-end properties with rents from £2,000 to £5,000 a week. In particularly high demand are one and two-bedroom apartments in some of London’s most sought-after neighbourhoods such as Mayfair, Kensington, Holland Park and Chelsea. 

Chestertons says the current demand is so strong that some properties are being let off-market, whilst those that have been listed, secured new tenants within two weeks and often after just one viewing. 

Richard Davies, the firm’s head of lettings, comments: “Since the pandemic, London’s lettings market has been subject to a clear oversupply. The number of available properties to rent is 83 per cent higher than this time last year, which led to many landlords of top-end properties dropping their rents. 

“The potential savings have not gone unnoticed by savvy renters whose confidence in the economy and the property market has been revitalised by the government’s roadmap and ongoing success in the vaccine rollout. The majority of tenants currently looking to move are already in rented accommodation but are eager to secure more property for their money.”

Davies concludes: “Our offices are now agreeing lets with tenants who are keen to move fast with some committing to two-year fixed contracts. With businesses and the public wanting to return to some form of normality sooner rather than later, we predict a continuous recovery of London’s lettings market, inevitably leading to rents reaching pre-pandemic levels.”