Shock forecast of 20% rent rises in coming months

A senior director at Chestertons, one of London’s largest lettings agencies, has warned that tenants in the capital will face an incredibly competitive rental market this summer.

The agency says there’s additional competition as new people flood into the city to find that the number of rental properties on the market has continued to shrink.

Adam Jennings, a regional London director for the firm, says: “The late-May bank holiday is known as the gateway to the summer market as many 12 month and 18 month tenancies come to an end; short-term summer rentals increase; students finish exams and begin searching for somewhere to live; and companies start relocating staff to so that children can be ready for the new school term.”

He adds that with many landlords having sold their investments over the past few years, and many experienced tenants negotiating in order to extend their tenancies to three years or more, there will be far fewer properties available for all of these new tenants. 

This will create one of the most competitive markets on record and is likely to nudge prices up further, he cautions.

Jennings expects that there will be around 10 per cent more properties coming onto the market in June, but this will be dwarfed by the number of tenants looking to move.

Last year, Chestertons registered 23 per cent more tenants in June compared to May and is expecting a similar uplift this year. 

As a result, rents, which have been flattening out since last autumn, could rise by as much as 15 to 20 per cent over the next few months which means that, according to Chestertons, now is an ideal time for landlords to list their property.