The balance between supply and demand continues to improve compared with last year, but letting agents are still very busy with high numbers of tenants looking to move says Rightmove in its latest Rental Trends Tracker. The average number of enquiries per rental property is now 15, down from 23 last year, but nearly double the eight recorded in 2019. Available supply has increased by 13% year-on-year, though it is still 27% below 2019 levels, highlighting continued pressure on rental availability. Average London rents have hit a new record at £2,694 pcm, 2.5% higher than last year (£2,627 pcm).
Rightmove’s third Greener Homes Report found half (50%) of landlords say they are concerned about potential financial penalties if rental properties fail to meet EPC C standards by 2030. A green wealth divide has emerged – analysing EPCs created over the past year found 50% of £1 million plus properties had significantly improved their rating since their previous EPC, compared with only 32% of properties worth under £400,000. The majority (72%) of people would be willing to change how and when they use energy if it meant they could access cheaper energy rates at different times of the day. Ahead of the Autumn Budget, Rightmove is asking the government to consider support for landlords which in turn will benefit tenants, and more mass market help for homeowners of lower value homes.
