Rental Market Still Strong Following Brexit

Whether a “leaver” or a “remainer”, many landlords have expressed concerns about the rental market following the Brexit vote.

While many have been predicting a slump in the property market, ARLA’s July private rental sector report found that the number of rental properties on letting agents’ books in July was the highest so far this year at 184.

The figure is up 5% on June but slightly down on last year when there were 189.

Demand from tenants fell slightly from 37 applicants per branch in June to 36 in July but agents are reporting no major changes since the Brexit vote.

Seven in ten agents witnessed no change in rents, and six in ten saw no movement in both supply or demand.

As in June, 38% of letting agents saw no sign of the market being in distress following Brexit.

David Cox, managing director of ARLA, said: “Despite reports that the housing market is spiralling out of control post-Brexit, our results paint a very different picture, and indicate that the future is bright for the rental market.

“Supply is up, as we’d expect at this time of year, and the number of tenants experiencing rent hikes hasn’t changed in three months.

“While we obviously need new houses to balance the growing gap between supply and demand, what’s positive is that the situation isn’t worsening as a direct result of June’s Brexit result.”