The number of homes available to rent in the UK sinks 40% below average

The number of available homes to rent in the UK market currently sits at 38% below average according to research published by UK property website Zoopla, with a chronic imbalance between the supply and demand of available properties pushing rental costs to the highest level seen in over a decade.

According to UK property website Zoopla, the number of available homes to the rent in the UK is now currently sitting at 38% below the five-year average while demand for rental properties has reached 46% above the normal level – causing such a chronic undersupply of housing and high demand amongst households that rental costs have risen to their highest levels seen in over 10 years.

With so many prospective tenants searching for a property in the UK and with so few properties available, the rental market is struggling to keep up with demand and in turn, rental prices have risen by 12.1% in the last 12 months – an average increase of £117 per month or £1,400 a year – and tenants are now on average spending 35% of their income on their rent.

As more tenants are choosing to become long-term ‘lifestyle renters’ and not opting to purchase a home, contrary to the traditional expectation of young people in the UK, more properties in the market are being rented for much longer tenancy periods, meaning there are less properties available on the market for new renters searching in the market.

With four times as many tenants looking for a studio apartment than there are studio apartments available in the market, the demand for single occupancy properties to fit the needs of ‘lifestyle renters’ has increased dramatically, with Zoopla also reporting an acceleration in demand for single occupancy apartments which account for 32% of all rental enquiries across the UK, and a significant decrease in the demand for houses.

To learn more about how you can capitalise on the demand for single occupancy properties in the UK rental market and invest in the UK’s most recession proven asset, get in touch with one of our expert property consultants today.