London tenants face a severe stock shortage, as just 4% of rental properties in the capital are currently available to let, London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves revealed.
Benham and Reeves analysed rental market stock availability across London, looking at how the availability of stock has changed, and which boroughs were home to the lowest level of homes for rent as a proportion of total rental properties.
The research showed that there were some 40,496 homes available to rent across London – 4% of the capital’s total 1,009,266 rental homes.
However, stock levels showed signs of increasing, up 21% on a quarterly basis and 5% annually.
In Barking and Dagenham, there were 180 homes listed to let, equating to just 1% of the borough’s total rental properties.
Across Newham, Haringey, Croydon, Havering, Bexley, Enfield, Redbridge and Waltham Forest, available rental stock equated to 2% of total rental properties, climbing to 3% in Ealing, Hounslow, Bromley, Brent, Hillingdon, Harrow, Sutton and Lewisham.
In a further 12 boroughs, fewer than one in 10 rental homes were available to new tenants, with just Camden (10%), City of London (11%), Kensington and Chelsea (12%) and Westminster (12%) home to a higher percentage.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “London may be seeing a subdued rate of growth when it comes to the sales market, but the rental sector has been on fire of late and is buckling under the pressure of huge tenant demand.
“A return to normality has seen increased activity from professional tenants, students and foreign renters, all of which have caused stock levels to plummet, making it extremely difficult for new tenants to find and secure a property.”
He added: “As our research shows, stock levels are scarcest across the capital’s more peripheral, affordable boroughs, but even those with the financial clout to rent in prime central London will struggle.
“In fact, we’re seeing an average of 37 applicants for every available rental property that enters the market.
“At the same time, our landlords have seen a fourfold increase in the monthly cost of their mortgage, and this will inevitably result in rents climbing higher, otherwise landlords will have to exit the sector.
“If they do, even less stock to meet demand will also push up rents so it’s a tough time to be a tenant whichever way you look at it.
“The only silver lining is that the total number of homes to let has started to creep up, however, this increase is simply insufficient when it comes to fulfilling the current appetite for London rental properties.”
