Reforms must ease shortage of supply

The agents’ trade association Propertymark says the government’s high-profile rental sector reforms should address the continuing shortage of supply.

Propertymark chief executive Nathan Emerson comments: “Pressures on the sector are not easing, especially in England given that the recent Renters’ Reform White Paper has now been published. What's important is that landlords understand that this paper is a set of proposals and that there is still a process of debate and discussion before any legislation is brought in.

“The UK Government have also committed to ensuring landlords have access to their properties via a revised section 8 notice. Given the ever-widening gap between supply of homes and demand, it is crucial that Government’s across all nations prioritise reforms that incentivise new and existing investment in the sector.”

His comments come as new data from Propertymark shows rents continuing to rise.

The trade body says while there has been a long term increase in the availability of properties to rent since February, demand from prospective tenants has also risen.

ARLA Propertymark members reported having 10 properties on average per member branch that were available to rent in May. This is very similar to April’s figure, suggesting that little has changed in terms of new stock levels since last month.

An average of 113 new applicants were registered per member branch in May.

This is up since February when 78 new applicants were registered on average.

The association says such a slow and steady rise appears to mirror the increase in available lets. As rises in demand match increases in available homes, pressure on rents is set to continue.

Agents reported in May that the average void period between tenancies is below two weeks. This is over a week less than the long-run average for May which is a little over three, established between 2015 and 2019.

Some 79 per cent of member agents reported month-on-month rent prices increasing in May.