Like the sales market, there is a shortage of stock in the rental market at the moment and that includes homes for rent in Marylebone. At the same time, strong demand from tenants, means we are seeing record high rents everywhere except Scotland and the North East. Outside London, rents have hit a peak of £828pcm - the biggest quarterly rise since 2015. Within London, rents are now £2,104pcm after the biggest jump at this time of year since Rightmove’s records began. In Marylebone, the average 1 bed flat for rent is £3,077pcm. A 2 bed one is now £8,932pcm and the average 4 bed apartment in Marylebone is £5,339.
Annual growth is now 3.2% outside London, the highest since 2016, and 5.6% in London. To give you an idea of the scale of the supply shortages - nationally, the number of available properties is 13% below the previous low in 2015, and down 24% in London (Including Marylebone). It is a situation that is unlikely to improve in the short term, with Rightmove’s research revealing almost a quarter of landlords (24%) are planning to sell at least one property.
There is no doubt, landlords at least breathed a sigh of relief at the election result, as many feared Labour’s plans for the PRS would have been hugely damaging. It’s not all good news, with the Conservatives announcing they will be ending no fault evictions. It will be a while, though, before we can tell what their more general attitude to the sector is going to be like, but it is worth noting Johnson and Cummings have got some pretty radical agenda in other areas. In the meanwhile, demand continues to rise and supplies are shrinking, leading to constant upward pressure on rents.
In a further evidence of the negative effect government legislation is having on rents and supply levels in the Private Rented Sector, industry body, Arla Propertymark have recently revealed that the number of tenants that have successfully negotiated rent reductions (1.1%) has hit an historic low.
David Cox, ARLA Propertymark’s Chief Executive says:
“Since the tenant fees ban came into effect, our data shows that rents reached an all-time high last year. While we have seen a slight drop in the number of agents witnessing landlords increasing rents since then, overall rents remain high and now it seems that tenants are finding it harder than ever to negotiate a reduction in rent.
“As rents continue to rise, tenants will find it even more difficult to find suitable accommodation. Now that we have a new government in place, it’s important that long overdue legislative changes are implemented to make the market attractive again for both tenants and landlords.”
If you have a property for rent in Marylebone, please feel free to give us at Manors estate agents a call to see what effect this will have on your properties and what you should expect to achieve in the current rental market.
