Rents reach new record high with average home receiving 25 inquiries

Average rent in London reaches £2,627 per month

(Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Archive)

The average advertised rent for a home across Britain, excluding London, reached a record high of £1,278 per month in the third quarter of this year, according to Rightmove.

It marks the 15th consecutive quarter that average advertised rents have risen to a new record.

In the third quarter of 2023, average advertised rents across Britain but outside London were 10.0 per cent higher than this time last year.

Within London, the average asking rent also reached a new record of £2,627 per month, which was 12.1 per cent higher than a year earlier.

One of the factors driving rising rents is not enough available rental properties to meet the demand from prospective tenants looking to move, Rightmove said.

The average rental property across Britain is receiving 25 inquiries from prospective tenants to letting agents, compared with eight on average in pre-pandemic 2019, the website added.

The data measures the total number of inquiries by phone and email sent from would-be tenants to agents.

Ria Laitmer, a lettings manager at Clarkes in Dorset, said: “We’re receiving mounting inquiries for each property to rent from would-be tenants, with queues of tenants arriving to open-house viewings.”

Expert tips for securing a rental property

1. Moving fast to set up a viewing is key. Having instant property alerts set up, and getting to know local estate agents can help to make sure you are one of the first to know about a new property.

2. Be clear about your “non-negotiables” from the start, including maximum budget and how long you intend on staying at the property. This will help agents suggest the most suitable other properties if one does not work out.

3. Being flexible on a move-in date is tricky, but it can be an attractive addition to a tenant application. This is easier for first-time renters, but if you’re already renting, considering if you have any options to temporarily move in with friends or family to fit around the new property move-in date could help.

4. It is important to be organised and have your finances and documentation in order early. This includes having the deposit ready to go, references lined up, and a guarantor secured if you need one.

5. If you are able to expand your search it could open up more options and you could potentially find some cheaper properties too.

Debbie Marsden, director at Marsdens Lettings in Wiltshire, said: “Like everywhere else, we’ve been seeing a huge increase in inquiries per property.”

Rightmove said that while the demand it is seeing in the rental sector remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, it has eased compared to last year.

Rightmove’s director of property science Tim Bannister said: “Record rents and far more tenants looking to move than there are homes available means it will still feel very difficult for many tenants navigating the market.

“However, there are signs that some of the pressure between supply and demand is beginning to ease, with the number of new rental properties coming to the market now at its highest level since the end of last year.

“While it is likely that there is some way to go before this filters through to rental prices, if the improving trend between supply and demand continues, we could start to see the pace of yearly rent rises slow more significantly than it has been.”