The speed at which rents are rising has increased in recent months - after a slowdown during the pandemic. Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK increased by 2.7% in year to April 2022, the Office for National Statistics has said, representing the largest annual growth rate since figures began in January 2016.
Propertymark, which is the leading professional body for letting agents, reported a big disparity between supply and demand in its March Private Rented Sector Report. An average member branch reported having just eight properties that were empty and freely available in March, although that was up from five in February.
An average of 93 new applicants were registered per member branch in March, a big jump from 78 in February. Tenants were staying in their rental property longer, at 23 months on average, up from 21.
