In December 2023, more than a third (35%) of Propertymark members reported that rental prices had increased, according to its latest Housing Insight Report.
As expected during the holiday period, tenant demand was down as the number of new prospective tenants registered per member branch reduced to 63 in December 2023 from 86 in November.
However, available property to rent also followed downward trends, with a slight reduction in the number of properties available in December month-on-month.
There was an average of nine properties available to rent per member branch in December, compared with 10 the previous month.
Finally, with financial pressures mounting before Christmas, rental arrears continued to increase in December, with 4.5% of properties in rental arrears per member branch.
This figure stood at 3.5% in November 2023.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “Propertymark’s December Housing Insight Report demonstrates that the rental market is still experiencing turbulence with the cost of renting and rental arrears on the rise.
“That is why it is imperative that all governments across the UK do more to encourage investment in the private rental sector by reducing taxes for landlords and introduce policies that increase the number of homes to rent and bring down the cost of renting.”
