THE COST of renting in London is now 12.1 per cent higher than last year, as tenants dish out "record" payments of £2,627 pcm, a new report from Rightmove shows. „ Over the last year, London lodgers have seen their rents surge to new highs as the number of homes available decreased due to landlords ditching higher mortgage payments.„

This has led any remaining landlords to drive up rents and desperate tenants to overbid on homes.

Rightmove says across Britain the number of enquiries each property is receiving has more than risen to 25, up from eight at this time in 2019. „ Overall, the number of tenants looking to move in the UK is 41 per cent higher than in 2019 and the number of properties available to rent is down 35 per cent. „ But Rightmove said the supply and demand imbalance is improving from 2022 - demand has eased 17 per cent and supply is up 14 per cent.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, said if this improving supply and demand trend continued "we could start to see the pace of yearly rent rises slow more significantly than it has been".

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper