New tenants are set to pay more

People looking to rent a house or flat could see their costs rise because supply is falling as demand is rising.
The Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) said that with more landlords selling property than buying it, supply was down 6% year-on-year – and more than two thirds of the association’s members said they had more would-be tenants than available properties.
This looks far from being a rogue statistic, as it follows a trend that started more than a year ago.
Arla said it thought the situation would get worse for would-be tenants.
“This quarter, we have seen demand for properties in the rental sector significantly rise, while the supply of residential rental properties has dropped,” said Arla managing director David Cox.
“This activity has bucked the seasonal trend recorded over the past 11 years for this quarter, in which we normally see an increase in the number of new tenancies signed up.
“However, with landlords not investing in new buy-to-let property, tenants are finding it increasingly difficult to secure contracts.”