High-end lettings agency Knight Frank says there’s been a huge loss of houses available for renters in prime London in the past year.

Specifically the number of houses listed for rent between £2,000 and £4,000 per week in prime central London fell by 83 per cent between March 2020 and April 2021.

The shortage is having an impact on rental values, of course, although against as backdrop of a very weak London lettings market overall.

So the agency says that average rents for houses in PCL fell 9.7 per cent in the year to April compared to 14.8 per cent for flats. 

In prime outer London, average house rents fell by 5.9 per cent in the year to April compared to a decline of 11.9 per cent for flats.

However, overall annual rental value declines in prime London property markets bottomed out in April. 

The fall in prime central London was 13.3 per cent over the 12-month period, which compared to 14.3 per cent in March. In prime outer London, the annual decline was 9.4 per cent in April versus 11.5 per cent in March.

“The strong sales market means there are some parts of the lettings market in prime central London that are almost bereft of options for tenants, for example houses in Notting Hill and Chelsea,” says David Mumby, head of prime central London lettings at Knight Frank. 

“The best properties are not even being openly marketed. It means is that we may see a very rapid recovery in rents in some prime London markets.”