The Current State of the Rental Market. It’s Good News for Landlords

Talitha Burgess, Managing Director of Clarity Property Management brings glad tidings to a sector previously stricken by the pandemic. Now is the time to consider renting out your property – here’s why.

Here at Clarity Property Management, we’re looking on the bright side – at last.
At the time of writing, Freedom Day, tantalisingly dangled in front of us, has been put back a few weeks; frustrating news for businesses in hospitality and events, but fingers crossed that the strangely named “terminus date” of July 19th will start to return everything to relative normality.

Good News in the Rented Sector

Recent developments in the rented property sector will, we hope, offer much-needed relief to the stress you may have experienced in the last 15 months or so. ARLA Propertymark, the Association of Residential Letting Agents has reported that demand throughout the UK for rental accommodation in April was the highest on record.

As you know, ARLA really IS the gold standard when it comes to this sector.

It’s the professional body that sets and manages the levels of professionalism amongst its members. In my opinion, it’s bizarre that ARLA membership isn’t currently required by law, but – to put your mind at rest – as MD of Clarity, I have Level 4 accreditation; this hard-to-get registration is your reassurance that we do everything in line with current property legislation and will continue to do so.

So, the point I’m trying to make is that when ARLA publishes a report, we all sit up and take notice. Here are the headlines:

Why Is This?

What lies behind this growth? It’s quite simple: a lack of stock, and increased demand. If something is rare it goes up in price. The same applies to property.

There are more potential tenants looking for new homes than there are properties for them to rent. Tenants have to act fast; if they view a must-have property it becomes exactly that: must-have-get-a-move-on-now. Get that holding deposit paid asap. Snooze and you lose.

Also, the penny has dropped. The Southeast, and Brighton and Hove in particular, is officially the most desirable place in the UK to live, ever, ever. OK, so we’re exaggerating slightly, and there’s no actual data on this – but if you’re a property owner in Brighton, you may know what we mean:

Sun, sand, social life and a high standard of living attracts high-earning professionals to the area; hard working, respectful and dependable tenants looking for long-term accommodation.

In other words, the people that you could be renting to.

And Rent Prices?

According to the ARLA report, the number of tenants on the receiving end of rental rises went up, as 67% of agents reported landlords increasing rents. Year-on-year, this figure has more than doubled since April 2019, when it was just 33%.

Conversely, only 1.3% of tenants succeeded in negotiating a decrease in their rent – the lowest number recorded since January 2020.

In conclusion, it looks as if the property sector has started not only to recover but could also be on the brink of a boom period. All of these facts and figures are, in our view, extremely good news for landlords. If you have a property in the local area that you would like to rent out, it probably won’t be too difficult to do so.

But beware. You are not yet in the land of milk and honey.

Choose your Agency Carefully

Although we know you’re a level headed person, this record-breaking number of prospective new tenants could cloud your judgement if you’re thinking about going it alone. Although we do offer a standalone tenant-find service, if you’re a first time landlord, we strongly advise that you speak to an ARLA-accredited rental agency, such as Clarity Property Management before you go any further.

Why?

Because as a new landlord (or an experienced one, to be fair), there’s a great deal to know, many safety measures that you must take, and myriad ways to get things wrong – and break the law. The wellbeing of your tenants is, to all intents and purposes, going to be laid at your door. We’ve mentioned this little phrase before, but we take the time to cover off these essential details so that you don’t have to.

Let Clarity advise you what needs to be done now, next month, next year, in five years’ time, and so on and so forth. Keep ahead of the curve. And yes, you will pay us a fee, but time is money and legal action can be extremely expensive, not to mention stressful. In fact, inconceivably stressful and certainly not one of the reasons that you decided to let your properties in the first place.

Let Clarity help you select the right tenant. And, to help you be the perfect property owner, we offer a full property management service. Great tenants deserve great landlords after all.

Now is the time. Let’s make the most of some well-deserved good news.