A controversial rental sector figure claims over half of the properties listed to let are actually available for a tenant to move in.

Sam Reynolds, chief executive of Zero Deposit, says 51 per cent of homes listed in his analysis of Zoopla are not ‘tenant ready’.

He says: “Rental market supply is arguably the biggest issue within the sector today and such is the demand for rental homes that many are being listed to let before they are even available.”

He looked at almost 128,000 current rental market stock listings on Zoopla across England: just 49% were immediately available to tenants.

A further 16% of current stock is available to tenants within a month, while 11% isn’t available for up to three months. Almost a quarter (24%) of current rental market listings aren’t available to let for as long as six months or more.

The West Midlands is home to the highest proportion of rental stock immediately available to tenants at 56%, with over half of stock also available straight away across the East of England (53%) and London (52%). 

In the North East just 42% of current rental market stock immediately available in the current market, whilst 35% of current listings aren’t ready to move in for six months or more. 

The South East also ranks as one of the worst regions for immediate rental market stock availability, with just 44% of stock available in the current market, while a quarter (25%) of properties aren’t ready to move into for at least six months. 

Reynolds has made a number of eyebrow-raising statements in recent weeks.

He has claimed one in nine private renters uses foodbanks with 46 per cent of tenants describing their current position as having to make ends meet, with next to no disposable income once their outgoings were accounted for. 

Reynolds has also claimed the “renting negatively impacts quality of life, stress and hopes for the future.”

In that occasion he added: “Life is often stressful regardless of your living arrangements or what stage of life you are at. However, it’s clear from our research that those within the rental sector are largely less positive about their quality of life, under more stress as a result of renting and, as a result, have less hopes for the future.”