Rents on renewed tenancies drop for second month in a row

London and the South East were the only regions where renewed rents fell, dropping by 3.2% and 2.4% respectfully. 

Meanwhile, Scotland recorded the strongest annual rental growth, up 4.2%, followed by the North and Midlands, at 2.7% and 1.9% respectfully. 

Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International, commented: “Rental growth continued to slow last month, with average rents on renewed tenancies in Great Britain falling for the second consecutive month.   

“Uncertainty regarding household incomes has led to the fall in rents in London and the South East, where tenants’ incomes tend to be most stretched.”

Average rent of renewed tenancies (pcm)

Source: Hamptons International

The data from Hamptons International, part of Countrywide, also shows that the average time to let a property rose to a record high last month.  

In April it took 29 days on average to let a rental home in Great Britain, five days longer than in April 2019.

Beveridge continued: “Restrictions on movement throughout April meant that those homes available to rent took much longer to let than usual.  Demand fell back as most tenants chose to stay put and extend their existing tenancies. It took 29 days on average to let a home in Great Britain last month, the longest time recorded in any April since our records began in 2013.”

Average days to let by region

Source: Hamptons International                                          

Lockdown measures unsurprisingly led to a decline in rental demand, with more people staying put, and this is reflected in the figures.

The time it took to let a property last month rose in every region.  

The four slowest regions to let a property were in Wales (34 days), Yorkshire & Humber (33 days), the South East (33 days) and the North East (33 days).  

These same regions – aside from the North East – also recorded the biggest year-on-year increases in the time it took to let.  

The average time it took to let a home in April rose the most in the South East (+10 days), followed by Yorkshire & Humber (+9 days) and Wales (+7 days) compared with the same period last year. 

The South West, which up until last month had seen some of the strongest rental growth, was the quickest region to let a home. 

Demand for one-bedroom homes means that these usually rent the fastest, however, this changed last month when three-bedroom homes let the quickest. 

It took 29 days on average to let a three-bedroom home in April 2020, six days longer than the same time last year.  Whereas one-bedroom homes took 30 days on average to let last month, seven days longer than in April 2019. 

Beveridge added: “While demand in the rental market dropped following the introduction of lockdown measures in March the latest indicators show that it has now almost recovered to pre-lockdown levels. And given the changes to government advice on home moving announced last week, we expect activity in the rental market to return quickly.”

Average days to let by number of bedrooms

Source: Hamptons International                                                                                                                                                             

Want to comment on this story? If so…if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.