According to the latest report from Homelet, rents across the UK continued to rise during July, building on the consistent increases seen during the first half of the year. However, despite these increases, the rate of rental growth is still slowing as we enter the second half of the year.
The data revealed that rents agreed on new tenancies across the UK (excluding London) over the three months to the end of July were up by 2.3%, compared to the same period in 2015. In the capital, meanwhile, rents were 4% higher.
The data suggests that landlords have been able to continue securing higher rents on new tenancies despite the economic uncertainties created by the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in June. It mirrors data from the housing market, with mortgage lenders also reporting modest growth in house prices in the month following the Brexit vote although many agree that is still too early to measure what affect Brexit sentiment has had on the market.
Looking forward, the fundamental forces in the private rental sector remain unchanged: Britain’s growing population, the relative unaffordability of house prices, and the lack of new homes being built combined with the reduction in social housing suggest that the private rental sector will continue to be an ever-important source of homes in the years and decades to come.
