Breaking Property News 28/10/24

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.

 

The latest research by tlyfe, the UK’s number one tenant app launched by OpenBrix, has revealed how a highly competitive rental market is seeing tenants paying hundreds, sometimes thousands of pounds more over the course of their tenancy, due to the time it’s taking them to secure a rental property.

Analysis of ONS rental market data by tlyfe shows that, over the last year, the monthly cost of renting across Britain has increased by an average of £8 each and every month.

A survey of renters, commissioned by tlyfe, found that the average tenant spends two and a half months searching for a rental property and, in a fiercely competitive market, they need to apply for at least two properties before they are able to secure a roof over their head.

When asked what the main factors were in failing to secure a rental property, the number one reason was that the property in question had already been let by the time they applied.

The second biggest issue faced was that there were multiple tenants applying for the same property and it had gone to someone else, whilst the third biggest factor was that numerous applicants had caused the rent agreed to increase beyond their affordability threshold.

But it’s not just competition, it’s time that is driving up the cost of renting for the average tenant. With the average time taken to find a rental property sitting at two and a half months, this means tenants are seeing the cost of renting increase by almost £20 per month from the point they begin their search to the point they secure a rental property. Over the course of a 12 month tenancy, this equates to an additional £235 paid in rent for the average tenant.

Of course, for some the search for a property takes far longer and tlyfe found that 52% of tenants take between two to six months before they secure a rental property, with 43% applying for between two to 10 properties before they are successful. Those taking six months to find a rental home will see the average cost of renting increase by an estimated £48 per month from the time they start their search to signing a tenancy agreement – that’s an additional £576 over the course of a 12 month tenancy.

But spare a thought for the small proportion of tenants for whom it took between 7 months to a year in order to find a rental home. With rents increasing by an average of £8 per month, those searching for a full 12 months will have seen the average monthly cost of renting increase by £96 by the time they secure a property, equating to an additional cost of £1,152 over the course of their next 12 month tenancy.

CEO of OpenBrix, Adam Pigott, commented: “The rental market is straining under the immense pressure caused by soaring tenant demand and an inadequate supply of rental homes and it’s this imbalance that has caused rents to soar so consistently in recent years. As a result, tenants face a number of obstacles when looking to secure a rental home and whilst the cost is certainly a sizable one, the initial struggle is their ability to find a property in the first place in what has become a very fast moving, competitive market.

This means that not only is the average tenant having to apply for multiple properties before they are successful, but their search can drag on for months on end, as they no doubt view a whole lot more than they actually apply for. At the same time, the cost of renting continues to climb meaning that by the time they do secure a property, it’s even more expensive to rent, seeing them pay hundreds of pounds more over the course of their tenancy – sometimes even thousands of pounds more.

Whilst little can be done to stem the increase in rental properties, particularly whilst supply remains such an issue, tenants can look to get ahead of the game when it comes to being rent ready. That’s why we’ve developed tlyfe in order to help them get their house in order, so that when a rental property does become available, they can be at the front of the queue of applicants.”

tlyfe is the UKs number one tenant app with over 75,000 active tenants, and  is currently the 13th most downloaded app in the UK. The groundbreaking app for tenants is a first of its kind fully supporting their entire tenancy lifecycle and finally giving a voice to the tenant themselves.

tlyfe was designed and built as a gap in the market was identified to develop something that brings agents and tenants together. Whilst providing tenants with value-add services and supporting their entire tenancy lifecycle. The company has formed a strategic partnership with the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) and has access to over 4 million tenants.

 

Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X

Andrew Stanton

CEO & Founder Proptech-PR. Proptech Real Estate Influencer, Executive Editor of Estate Agent Networking. Leading PR consultancy in Proptech & Real Estate.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

High Quality Modular Homes for the UK

Are you looking for added accommodation space in your garden / on your land? Modular Living Homes by tutumHOUSE offer a new way to live – minimalist in form, rich in experience. “There are approximately 9.6 million homes in the UK with a garden shed, and around 52% of the population owns one.” asgardsss There…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

The most stressful places to move to in the UK

With more people in the UK moving homes during summer than any other season and the average cost of moving in the UK rising to over £14,000, picking the right place to move to has become more crucial than ever. Luckily, new research from Pay Less for Storage reveals the UK cities that make life easiest…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Time-Traveling Estate Agent Sequel Climbs Amazon Charts

A UK Estate Agent Currently Bringing Joy to People’s Lives – Shame He’s Fictional…   Eric Meek, the fictional estate agent created by author Dale Bradford, is back for a second outing in The Time‑Travelling Estate Agent 2, a sequel that is already climbing Amazon’s bestselling time‑travel rankings. Estate agents were recently highlighted as the third…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

Is it finally time for lenders to back green homes?

Andrew Smith weighs the risks and rewards Property developers are increasingly pitching green homes to lenders; however, with sales cycles slowing down and repair costs rising, is now the right time to back sustainable builds and at what price point is there market demand? Sustainability is continuing to shape our future of construction with the…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 24/07/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   OpticWise – digital infrastructure in commercial real estate If your building were a product, how would it perform on the user experience scale?  Week 9: Experience as Infrastructure – Designing for Human-Centric Buildings Welcome to Week 9 of our 52-week journey into the future…
Read More
new build homes colchester essex
Breaking News

UK Housebuilding Falters as Construction Hiring Flatlines

New research from Inventory Base reveals that UK construction industry employment has increased by almost 11% in the past five years, but there has been less than 1% growth in the past 12 months. Inventory Base’s analysis of the UK construction industry shows that in 2024 (latest data available) it employed an estimated total of…
Read More