UK RENTS SET TO RISE 4% TO 5% BY DECEMBER

🔴 UK rents on new tenancies are forecast to rise 4% to 5% a year by December.

That is a sharp turn. Zoopla data shows rent growth had slowed for three years, bottoming at 1.6% in February. By July it was back up to 2.6% compared with a year earlier.

The driver is supply. There are 3% fewer homes available to rent than a year ago. Each listing now attracts an average of more than five enquiries, the most intense competition in nearly two years.

Higher mortgage rates are part of it. Would-be first-time buyers are staying put in rented homes, adding to the queue. Zoopla said demand was particularly significant in London.

📈 Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said the market is sensitive to even modest changes in how many homes are available, and called more investment in rental homes the most sustainable route to stable rents.

New landlord investment is described as "still muted" on higher costs and more regulation. The Renters' Rights Act came into force in England at the start of May, billed as the biggest shake-up of the sector in more than 30 years.

One caveat from the BBC Business report: the forecast 4% to 5% roughly matches the average annual rise in workers' earnings. And the report notes cheaper areas have more room to absorb increases, while the priciest ones are already near what tenants can pay.

Has your rent gone up this year, and by how much?

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