Tenant demand for private rental property has risen for the fifth consecutive quarter according to the latest market snapshot from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. 

The RICS surveys look at the balance of surveyors’ opinions, and it says a net balance of 52 per cent of respondents noted a rise in the past three months. 

When viewed at the regional level, all parts of the UK saw a firm pick-up in tenant enquiries over the quarter. 

London – where the rental market has been in the doldrums for much of the pandemic period – has now reported two consecutive quarterly increases as the economy in
the capital slowly begins to reopen. 

At the same time, landlord instructions remain in decline, with the latest national net balance slipping to minus 20 per cent from a figure of minus six per cent previously. 

On the back of this supply and demand mismatch, RICS says rents are expected to rise over the next three months by a net balance of 50 per cent of contributors. 

In London, a net balance of 47 per cent of respondents now foresee rents increasing over the near term, marking a significant turnaround on the net balance of minus three per cent posted in the three months to April, the previous quarter.