Buy to Let Rents Up 1.8% in a Year

According to statistics, buy-to-let rents increased by 1.8% to an average of £924 a month in the 12 months to the end of June 2018. Landlords in two regions saw rent drops - a fall of 0.8% in the North East and 0.2% in Wales. 

Rents in London saw a sharper rise by 4.7%, leaving the average tenant paying £1,596 a month. 

But stripping the figures for the capital away from the national average reveals rents outside London are £767 a month - an annual increase of 1.7%. The highest rents in London are in the plush suburbs of Westminster (£2,227 a month), Camden and the City of London (£2,224 a month). 

Rents in Camden are also rising the fastest in London - by 16.1% in the past 12 months. Tenants pay the cheapest rent in Croydon (£1,091 a month), Barking & Dagenham and Havering (£1,228 a month). 

Outside the capital, the best rent increases were enjoyed by landlords in the West Midlands (4.1%), Yorkshire & Humberside (2.3%) and Scotland (2.5%). 

In the South East, rents have stood still for a year, while they have risen just 0.8% in the South West The study by landlord insurers Homelet also asked tenants how long they intended to rent a home. 

A third responded that they would rent for one to three years, while 45% thought they would rent for longer, although 24% have no idea how long. 

Landlords were quizzed about rent rises by researchers, who found 31% would not put up their rents, but 18% planned a hike within six months, 18.7% within a year and 14.8% next year. 

The Homelet Rental Index takes data from tenant referencing inquiries and is based on actual rents agreed, not asking prices. 

Furthermore, Rob Dales of Commercial Expert ltd. who provides buy-to-let finance (and are a featured supplier of the Guild) remains positive about the buy-to-let market:

Firstly, growth is expected in ‘build to rent’ properties. This emerging sub-market within private residential rented stock should enable landlords to get a rental return substantially over the mortgage payments. Property brings in a regular income and can be bought with a deposit (unlike stocks and shares) – so the old adage of ‘You can trustbricks and mortar’ still applies. In addition, there’s greater demand from tenants – it’s thought that almost one in four households in Britain will be renting privately by the end of 2021 as soaring house prices and stagnant wages put home ownership out of the reach of growing numbers of people (Knight Frank survey, June 2017).