Small new-build properties are “flooding” the rental market

The rental market is experience a huge surge in the availability of new-build flats and maisonettes, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

Just over 43 per cent of UK agents say they are seeing an increase in this type of property coming on to the market because it cannot be sold.

Ian Potter, Managing Director, ARLA said: “New build flats and maisonettes are often a very popular choice for landlords investing in a buy-to-let property, particularly in large cities. The low maintenance costs and perceived demand from young professionals are key considerations for many landlords. Because of the saturated sales market in many parts of the UK, we are seeing this kind of smaller new build property flood on to the rental market.”

Meanwhile, UK tenants are now paying more rent than ever, according to HomeLet, with the average cost of renting a home now up to £806 a month which is the first time £800 has been passed. The company’s August figures show the UK’s average rental amount increased by 2.1% over the previous month.

Around the country, the South West saw the largest annual decrease with average rents dropping by 3.5% to £753 a month. The North East also saw its third consecutive annual decrease after dropping by 3.3% to £524 a month.

Ian Fraser, HomeLet’s Managing Director, said: “The average age of the UK tenant has decreased over the past three years to 32. This is contrary to the average age of a first time buyer that has increased to 37 which could suggest renting a home is the only option for those would-be first time home owners. In addition, data from this month’s report shows fewer of the tenants we referenced were previously homeowners, and an increased percentage of them previously rented another home. This could be further proof that renting has become a way of life for many, as they remain in rented accommodation for longer.”

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• http://twitter.com/workingnomad Working Nomad

  Hopefully the BTL landlords will be stuck with these little hovels

• ChrisClarkGold

  Well, as the Council of Mortgage Lenders noted this morning Year on Year mortgages for July went down 4%, so there will be more of the same as the banks lend less.

• holayinka

  not easy 4 chelsea 2 retain the league

• http://savepenrhos.co.uk/ Andy Williams

  Article appears to be focused on London/South East. Around £400-450 pcm will get you a 2/3 bed house in Greater Manchester, most of Merseyside and most of North Wales.

• forber

  Ban buy to let! All those editorials about how British people should get over wanting to own rather than rent are written by people who have never rented or have forgotten how miserable it is to rent with no security and exorbitant prices.

• SirMortimerPosh

  The enormous problem younger people have in buying homes is mostly a matter of shortage. Long ago in the nineteen sixties I studied economics at school. the first lessons were about the influence of supply on demand and price. The UK has been taking in a million foreign settlers every four years since about the year 2000. In the same period, we have been building twenty or thirty thousand new homes and demolishing old ones. If we compare the number of homes and the size of the population in 1990 with the same measures now, we will see the answer as to why young people are more impoverished than any of the older generations, why they pay such large rental fees and why they can’t buy houses. The answer is so simple, I am surprised politicians can’t see it and explain it to the people. Of course they CAN see it and they DO see it. The reason that they don’t identify and stop immigration now – whatever party there is in power is that they all know the state run PONZI scheme of social security is collapsing as its outgoings far exceed its income and like Bernie Maddoff, they are desperate to drag in new investors to pay tax and NI to keep the fiasco afloat. The only way they can do this is by attracting new PONZI SCHEME clients from Africa, Pakistan, India and China. Hence – there will be no action against immigration.

  UK GOVT. PLC runs the biggest Ponzi scheme in the world.

• gunabut

  The buy to let market is the capitalist idea of social housing. People having to rent these properties can not get a mortgage anyway.
  Since all the lawful protections have been stripped away from renters it will be impossible to stay renting when retirement comes. So what do people then do, end up in privately run ‘homes’ subsidised through social security payments ? Or is it than upon retirement parents will have to move in with their kids in already tiny unfit for purpose homes?

  Social housing sets a standard and forces private housing upmarket. A privately funded house would need to be better than the standards of social housing, otherwise there would be no benefit. Now that social housing is non existant, private housing standards have dropped below even the standards set by social housing 50yrs ago, and the rents are high.
  At the moment savers are subsidising the mortgage market through low interest rates, so are also subsidising ‘buy to let ‘ landlords. The real problems will be seen when interest rates go up.

• natly

  I assume the government are ok with the fact that they won’t be able to sell my house to fund my care when I am old and infirm, as I will never be able to afford to buy one.