Real estate analyst Iwona Hovenko comments on data from Rightmove which shows rents outside London have reached a record £1,190 following successive quarterly increases in landlords’ asking prices since 2019.

Unfortunately for tenants in the United Kingdom, the rental supply-demand imbalance is only likely to worsen in the near-term future, as smaller private landlords exit the sector due to high taxation, interest rates and the steep costs to bring their properties to at least EPC band C in the next few years.

Shortage of qualified labour and the still-high prices of materials may make that job even tougher. Moreover, the same factors are also hitting the supply of new homes. 

[T]he ranks of renters may continue expanding due to potential buyers being priced out by the high interest rates, lower mortgage affordability, as well as squeezed disposable incomes.

Meanwhile – although housing market remains relatively resilient – the ranks of renters may continue expanding due to potential buyers being priced out by the high interest rates, lower mortgage affordability, as well as squeezed disposable incomes.

Some ‘would-be’ buyers may have also shelved their purchase plans while waiting for house prices to fall.

All of these factors may be exacerbating demand for rental housing at a time when supply is likely to shrink further.