May 27, 2021

From ARLA

Key findings:

  • Number of new prospective tenants highest on record for month of April
  • Number of tenants experiencing rent increases rose in April
  • Number of properties managed per branch rose in April

Demand from tenants

  • The average number of new prospective tenants registered per branch fell slightly in April to 82, from March’s figure of 84.
  • Year-on-year this is still the highest figure on record for the month of April, with the previous April high being 72 prospective tenants registered per branch in 2018.
  • Regionally, Wales had the highest number of new tenants registered per branch with an average of 133.
  • However, this number was lowest in Scotland where there was only an average of 26 new prospective tenants registered in April.

Rent prices

  • The number of tenants experiencing rent increases jumped in April as 67 per cent of agents saw landlords increasing rents, compared to 60 per cent in March.
  • Year-on-year this figure has more than doubled since April 2019* when the figure stood at 33 per cent.

Supply of rental stock

  • The number of properties managed per letting agent branch rose from 193 in March to 201 in April.
  • Year-on-year this is marginally less than during April 2019* when the figure stood at 202.

Rent reductions

  • The number of tenants successfully negotiating rent reductions fell from 1.7 per cent in March to 1.3 per cent in April.
  • This is the lowest number recorded since January 2020 when the figure also stood at 1.3 per cent.