publication date: Feb 26, 2014
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author/source: Kate Faulkner, Property Expert and Author of Which? Property Books
Rents in Yorkshire and the Humber fall towards the end of 2013
In Yorkshire & The Humber, LSL recorded a small fall of -2% year on year. The figures from Homelet and Move with Us indicate fairly static rents at -0.7% and -0.5%, with Belvoir showing a slight increase of 2.2% year on year.
Yorkshire and Humber average rents saw fairly stable rents, on average at the end of 2013.
In the Yorkshire and The Humber region, rents vary from around £530 through to £630. Typically, there is very little movement in rents, with only slight rises, through to static and slight falls.
- Landlords – In a fairly static market, you need to ensure you let a quality property. Tenants are becoming more demanding wanting a home, not just a ‘place to live’, so don’t cut corners on maintenance, particularly during the autumn and winter when tenants desperately need to be warm. To make sure you are maximising your revenue, read our Renting by the Room Checklist.
- Tenants – When rents are stable, you can take your time searching for the ideal property but make sure the property is let legally and kept up to date. Check your deposit is protected in a one of the government licenced tenancy deposit schemes. To check your deposit is safely protected, read our Tenancy Deposit Scheme Checklist.
- Letting Agents – When rents are not rising, landlords need more help maximising their returns. To attract new landlords, ensure you provide a service which is more about maximising their investment returns and not just marketing and managing a property.
East Anglia rents show a steady rises
The indices of Homelet, Move with Us and Belvoir all show a small rise, year on year, in average rents for East Anglia, at 5.1%, 4.2% and 3.1% respectively. The LSL data on the other hand shows a fall of -4.4%.
Rental trends suggest a range from -4.4% to +5.1% indicating quite a variation which seems to be due to location – Cambridge for example is doing well, so more properties in the index from this area will boost the rental rises.
For East Anglia, rents vary from £690 to around £750 through to a much higher rent of £895 from the Move with Us quarterly index. Typically, rents are rising above inflation, with the exception of the LSL index which quotes falls of -4.4%.
- Landlords – Rents rising above inflation is a great position to be in. Take advantage of the extra cashflow if you are re-letting your property and make sure all maintenance jobs are done to keep the property dry, warm and as energy efficient as possible in the winter months. Visit our How to Replace a Boiler for Landlords Checklist.
- Tenants – If you are able, try to secure a property sooner rather than later. Very often, once a landlord has found a good tenant, they tend not to increase rents that much, if at all while they stay, so the quicker you get locked into a rent level, the less likely you are to see big rises. Make sure the property is let legally and maintenance has been kept up to date. Visit our Renting a Property Checklist.
- Letting Agents – With such a huge shortage of stock to rent, you are going to need to make sure you take advantage of things like the ‘build to rent’ scheme, supported by the government. Securing new business based on cutting commissions is a recipe for financial disaster, so aim to deliver great service to secure landlords and tenants in the long term.
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