LSLPS BTL index hits a high

Finally I can bring landlords some comforting news... rents are up!

The LSLPS BTL Index for June 2015 (Your Move and Reeds Rains) have recorded record rises.

The annual rent rise across England and Wales is now at 5.6%. 

The average monthly rent in England and Wales is now at £789.

Director, Adrian Gill, comments: 

“The pedal is pressed to the metal in the rental market. Not only have rents hit a new all-time record high – but we have never seen them rise so quickly. 

Growing wage packets and a strengthening economy mean that a greater number of tenants are able to afford higher rents. With such an overall shortage of housing in the UK, rental costs are primarily driven by the amount tenants are capable of paying. Rents have also decoupled from inflation. While record low inflation fueled by falling oil prices might bring clothes or food within the range of tenants’ purchasing power, it doesn’t have much of an effect on the property market in the short term.

There may be new factors on the horizon too. In the wake of the Summer Budget’s reduced assistance for landlords, we might see many aim to pass additional costs onto their tenants. If so, rents would receive yet another acceleration.

In all this, we mustn’t lose sight of the driving force behind rent increases – the mismatch of supply and demand. Expanding our housing stock needs to become a national priority. If anything, competition for homes is only going to get more intense over time. The fierceness of housing competition needs to be met with an equal dedication to homebuilding.”

Take advantage of our discounted landlord insurance rates