Worrying slump in UK property rental market says Home.co.uk

June 22, 2017
new build home fronts

Press release yesterday 21st June 2017 from Home.co.uk headlined ‘Alarming Decline in Homes for Rent’.

The UK property rental market has seen a worrying slump of 11.6% in available stock over the last six years, according to new figures released by Home.co.uk. In some areas the fall is much more dramatic and can only compound people’s housing woes.

Scotland has seen the most dramatic fall, with a 34.7% decrease in available properties to rent between July 2011 and June 2017. In Wales over the same period there has been a fall of 28.1% while the South West has seen a decline of 26.5%.

Home.co.uk director Doug Shephard said: “It is ironic that the government’s justification for tax changes in the PRS was to ‘level the playing field’ for wannabe homeowners. The result of this barrage of red tape and taxation, at both local and national government levels, has meant that the supply of rental properties has fallen behind demand in most regions thereby driving up rents. Of course, it’s not the first time that government tinkering and tax grabs have backfired but the upshot for Generation Rent is appalling.

The ‘elephant in the room’ for the government is that record low mortgage interest rates have driven unprecedented investment in the PRS over recent years. Simply put, those already with significant home equity have been able to come up with deposits for properties intended to let whilst aspiring homeowners are as cash-strapped as ever as they pay out huge sums in rent. However, ultra-low interest rates and the associated pain for renters look set to persist for the foreseeable future.”

Read the press release from Home.co.uk in full click here.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Second home hot-spots hit hardest by property slump

New analysis finds second home hot-spots, as well as London, lagged well behind national average growth Rathbones warns of relying on property to fund retirement, with research showing that equity portfolios outperformed housing by six times Housing in areas with high proportions of second homes lost more value in real terms in 2025 than the…
Read More →
New Build for Merseyside
Estate Agent Talk

Strong demand for buyer support schemes

Less than 2% of homes for sale offer buyer support schemes despite strong demand – More than one in three scheme-backed homes already sold as affordability pressures continue to drive buyer demand The latest analysis from London estate agent Benham and Reeves has revealed that homes offering buyers additional support through affordability and purchasing schemes…
Read More →
AI in estate agency letting agency property
Estate Agent Talk

A quarter of homebuyers think AI search will become more important than portals

New research from UK Property Development (UKPD) suggests that artificial intelligence could be poised to reshape the homebuying journey, with a quarter of recent homebuyers believing AI-powered search will soon overtake traditional property portals as the primary tool for finding a home. The findings come from a survey of 500 homeowners who purchased a property…
Read More →
Breaking News

East of England struggling to meet demand for large family homes

The East of England is facing a growing shortage of large family homes, according to new analysis from UK Property Development (UKPD), creating increasing challenges for buyers leaving London in search of more space, better quality of life, and access to one of the capital’s most desirable commuter regions. UKPD analysed live property listings data*…
Read More →
Breaking News

One in four tenants evicted a month ahead of the Renter’s Right Act

New analysis of 150,000 tenancies by COHO reveals that the Renters’ Rights Act (RRA) drove an estimated 73,900 additional tenancy eviction notices since 2023, with nearly 20,000 issued in the final month before the legislation came into force on 1 May. The data released this month by the property management software developer, revealed a sharp rise in evictions,…
Read More →
Breaking News

First-time buyers paying £38K up front

Average cost of buying a first home climbs above £38,000 as removal costs surge New research from Lyons Bowe that the average cost of buying a first home now stands at £38,353, with first-time buyers facing substantial upfront costs beyond the purchase price itself, as removal costs continue to soar. Lyons Bowe examined the average…
Read More →