The government has been warned to lay off private landlords and told to find other solutions to the UK’s current housing crisis.
The warning has been made by LSL Property Services which says that landlords are now targets for the Bank of England and Government despite providing a crucial role in offering homes to 20% of the country’s population.
A director of LSL, Adrian Gill, said: “Unconstructive policies and negative campaigns that attack landlords rather than supporting tenants will not help provide more homes or lower rents.”
He added that the continuous criticism will have the opposite effect and force rents up for tenants.
More than two years ago LSL predicted that the average rent in the UK for a private rented property would reach the £800 a month mark and its latest data shows this has now been achieved.
Rents have fallen since September
From their regularly published index, the firm says that while rents have fallen since September, they have risen year-on-year by 4% and there are predicting more rises early in 2016.
In addition, the index also reveals that rent arrears are a growing problem with tenant finances worsening and that landlords’ rental yields have also dropped.
Mr Gill added: “For landlords wanting to invest in extra properties, the current market conditions are harder to navigate than they were six months ago.
“For the best new investment rental yield, it is more important than ever to choose the right property that is in the right area.”
He added that landlords were also facing a seller’s market with homes being sold quickly and that property prices were increasing which will add more pressure on yields.
Mr Gill explained: “Rising prices will mean higher rents and these will begin rising by spring.”
UK rents will rocket by 2025
Meanwhile, in another piece of published research, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) is predicting that rents will grow by 27% over the next 10 years.
In addition, says the National Association of Estate Agents, property prices will also rocket by 50% in the same period.
This will lead to the house buying market becoming further out of reach for many more people and that the government should move to fix what both organisations term as a ‘broken housing market’.
Average rent in the UK will rise to £171 per week
By 2025, the report predicts that the average rent in the UK will rise to £171 per week from £134 and that house prices will rise from £280,000 to £419,000.
This situation will lead to more people renting their home and the proportion will rise from 20% currently to 29% in 10 years.
ARLA’s managing director, David Cox, said: “Rents are already growing at a rate that tenants are struggling to keep up with and they will become less sustainable over the next 10 years.”
