Demand for rental property outstripping supply in London

The amount of people looking for property to rent in London significantly outweighs the number of available flats or houses.

New research from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has indicated that over 40 per cent of Letting Agents have got more people looking for a home then they have properties on the books.

In the last three months, the number of people renting a property in the UK has risen by 20 per cent, the study showed.

As such, rents have also increased, with the average flat now costing £253 a week and houses priced at £387 a week.

What's more, the research found that the average amount of time a tenant will stay in a property in London has risen to over 18 months.

Commenting in the findings, ARLA's head of operations Ian Potter said that the presumed effect of the credit crunch on the rented sector has not occured.

He explained: "This steady rise in rental growth that we see yet again, coupled to clear evidence that there is no unusual selling, proves once again that the credit crunch effect on the private rented sector exists only in the imagination.

"This is underlined by the short void periods and length of time that tenants stay in rental properties."

Published 10th September, 2008

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