A rental demand league table produced by a lettings management platform shows the winners and losers across the UK – and some unexpected results for London.

The lists, drawn up by Howsy, look at rental listings across major property portals, taking an average demand score for major cities based on where has the highest number of properties already let as a percentage of all rental listings.

The research then highlights where the highest level of tenant demand is based on this supply/demand ratio.

Belfast has seen the largest increase in tenant demand in the third quarter of 2020, up 31 per cent since quarter two, followed by Glasgow, Bournemouth and Bristol – all up by over 20 per cent.

Aberdeen, Leeds and Leicester have seen the lowest uplift in tenant demand in the last three months – all up but by under five per cent each.

Tenant demand in London has increased by 10 per cent since Q2, however, a number of the capital’s peripheral boroughs have seen a still-stronger uplift – Kingston by 18 per cent, and Richmond, Havering, Islington, Hillingdon and Barking and Dagenham all up 13 to 15 per cent. 

“Despite some tenants finding themselves in financial difficulty due to the current pandemic, demand for rental properties continues to climb across the UK’s major cities as many still require a roof over their heads and have the financial stability to secure one” according to Howsy founder Calum Brannan.

“This will be welcome news for landlords who have had a tough few months with little to no help from the government. With a ban on evictions now over, they can attempt to return to normality and claw back some income on their bricks and mortar investment.”