Tenants continue to face rising rents

Only 2% of tenants successfully negotiated a rent reduction.

Tenants continue to face rising rents

The number of letting agents who saw landlords increase rents for tenants has reached its highest level since July 2015.

The figures, revealed in the PRS report by ARLA Propertymark, showed that 35% of agents saw landlords increase rents in August.

Only 2% of tenants successfully negotiated a rent reduction.

David Cox, chief executive at ARLA Propertymark, said: “This month’s findings paint another bleak picture for tenants.

“In November last year, only 16% of agents saw landlords increasing rent costs, but that figure now stands at 35% - which is likely to continue rising.

“Landlords have had a rough ride at the hands of policy changes at government level, and it’s becoming clear that these additional costs are now being passed onto tenants.”

Demand from prospective tenants increased by a small margin in August, whilst the number of landlords selling their buy-to-let properties remained at an average of three for sale per branch.