Being a tenant more affordable since 2016

Being a tenant more affordable since 2016

Original source: Property Reporter

Newly released data from The Deposit Protection Service has revealed that higher wages and lower deposits are helping to take the sting out of renting.
According to DPS figures, the proportion of income that tenants spent on rent decreased between 2016 and 2019 despite increases in rental levels, falling from 32.64% in 2016 to 30.64% in 2019.

The DPS said that various factors had helped improve the affordability of renting during the period, including a 2.69% increase in average salary (from £29,559 to £30,353) and a £77 decrease in average tenancy deposits (from £905 to £828) since the introduction of the deposit cap in June last year.

Matt Trevett, Managing Director of The DPS, said: “Although rents have risen over the past decade, other changes since 2016 have helped ensure renting has become on average more affordable.

“Predictions that rents would rise in response to the introduction of the tenant fees ban and deposit cap do not seem to have materialised, with many landlords seemingly declining to increase rents since last summer.”

DPS figures also showed that average rents reached a peak of £777 during the third quarter of 2019 (Q3 2019), before decreasing marginally by £4 to £773 during the following quarter.

Paul Fryers, Managing Director at specialist buy-to-let mortgage provider Zephyr Homeloans, which like The DPS forms part of the Computershare Group, said: “Although the longer-term recovery in rental levels is likely owing to broader economic factors, changes to rental figures are also more likely at moments where property changes hands.

“Over the last couple of years, professional landlords have become a larger proportion of the buy-to-let market as more and more smaller or ‘accidental’ landlords sell up, partly as a result of increasing costs.”

Northern Ireland saw the biggest increase in average monthly rents (3.01%) from £532 to £548 during Q4 2019, while average monthly rent in Yorkshire and The Humber decreased the most, from £551 to £524 (4.90%).

London continues to be the most expensive rental region in the UK, with average monthly rents standing at £1,345 in Q4 2019 – over two and a half times the amount (£518) paid in the UK’s cheapest region, the North East, during the same period. Excluding London, average monthly rent during the last quarter of 2019 stood at £672, said the report.

Source Property Reporter

Property Valuations

A lot of expertise goes into valuing a property. We have an extensive database of properties in the area backed up with statistics and price comparisons. We offer a free, no obligation valuation service and advise you on an achievable asking price based on sound local knowledge.
Get a free valuation.

Smart Marketing

Technology gives you a wider and more complex range of marketing tools to advertise and search for the right property. Things move fast in property, which is why we ensure that our photos are processed and uploaded to key websites within 2 hours of being photographed. We use Rightmove, Zoopla, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as well as running features in the Evening standard, Time Out and local papers.

Financial Advice

Getting the right financial advice is crucial when it comes to buying a property whether you’re letting,_ buying or selling. We have a range of tried and tested financial advisors as well as huge expertise on lenders and what they offer

Assistance

We know that acquiring a property can be daunting especially if it is your first purchase or you are buying with someone else. We are familiar with the latest help to buy schemes. See our mortgage table below to work out what you can afford. Click here.