UK rental growth at a near standstill

UK rents grew by 0.24% in the first six months of 2017, a third of the pace of H1 2016 (0.78%).

UK rental growth at a near standstill

In the first half of 2017 UK rental growth has slowed to a third of the levels recorded in the same period last year, Landbay’s Rental Index has found.

UK rents grew by 0.24% in the first six months of 2017, a third of the pace of H1 2016 (0.78%).

London is the only region where rents have fallen (-0.59%), with the rest of the UK seeing a 0.69% rise.

John Goodall, chief executive and founder of Landbay, said: “While there remains a huge degree of regional variation, the overall trend has been a slowing of rents across the UK, most markedly in London, where we’ve now seen a full year of falling prices.

“Wherever they’re based, landlords have had to face a catalogue of challenges over the past two years, from stricter regulation, a reduction in tax reliefs, and a significant stamp duty tax spike when buying a buy to let property.

“Yet despite these disincentives, they has been little sign of them leaving the market, and even less of them passing on these costs to tenants in the form of higher rents.

“Looking ahead however, this trend is unlikely to continue. Demand for rental properties can be expected to increase as we come out of the seasonal summer slowdown, and October’s PRA changes give landlords yet another incentive to push through transactions before the new regulations kick in.”