There has been an increasing sense of uneasiness from the British public recently as rent prices have been set to increase, which means that tenants are concerned that they may have to cut back in order to pay their rent, whilst landlords feel that there is an increased risk that their tenants will fall into rental arrears. Whilst many landlords have invested in comprehensive landlord insurance policies to protect themselves against any problems they may encounter in the future, a stable market would help matters even more.
This is why it is good news that is has been reported today that rent prices have actually decreased for the third month in a row, meaning that many landlords and tenants of private rented housing can breathe a bit easier. According to LSL Property Services, who owns chains Your Move and Reeds Rains, rent prices have fell 0.3 per cent month on month so now they are £732 on average, which is the lowest amount seen since July last year.
Rent figures may have decreased due to the fact that there has been an increase in first time buyers on the housing market, meaning that demand for private rented housing has actually decreased somewhat. Discussing the figures, LSL Property Services director David Newnes said: “An improving mortgage market in January helped take a little pressure off the limited supply of rental property, at a time when demand from tenants on the move is far from its seasonal peaks.”
“But the dip in competition is not likely to last long. The pace of the fall in monthly rents has slowed, and we are already seeing tenant activity pick up. The private rented sector is coiled for a spring bounce.” The figures from the study went on to show that the South East had the biggest decrease in rent prices at 1.5 per cent, whilst in London rents have also gone down to 0.2 per cent, however they are still 5.2 per cent higher than a year ago.
It will be interesting to see what will happen in the private rented sector in the next few months, as it seems that even the best predictions can sometimes end up wrong. Seeing as the home ownership figures are intrinsically linked to rent prices, whatever happens in one sector will sure to have a huge effect on the other.