Rise in number of London tenants living in shared properties

Posted by Jayne Codling

Landlords using London lettings agents to list property may be wise to target the multiple occupant market, with new figures suggesting home sharing is becoming increasingly common among tenants in the capital.

Figures from referencing service HomeLet show that the average number of tenants living in one property has increased from 1.5 in October 2009 to two in October 2011.

According to HomeLet, this is likely to be down to the significant increase in average rents seen in London and across the UK in recent months.

Its data suggests that, since 2009, rents in Greater London have risen by 23 per cent.

On average tenants in London are now paying £775 per month for their share of the rent, an increase of 13 per cent when compared to two years ago.

However, over the same period, average tenant incomes in the capital have only risen by six per cent.

John Boyle, managing director of HomeLet, warned that if rental amounts inflate next year as they have done through 2011, rents in London could become unaffordable for an increasing number of people.

As such, landlords in the capital might be wise to convert properties to be suitable for multiple occupants.

"More tenants in the capital and many other parts of the UK are looking to share a property rather than live on their own - however, for the many it's not through choice but necessity. With average rents rising at a much higher rate than average incomes, budgets are really being stretched," said Mr Boyle.

It follows recent comments from the Association of Residential Letting Agents, which claimed that high rents mean that now is an excellent time to invest buy-to-let properties.

The organisation said that 60 per cent of member agents have seen achievable rent levels on residential property rise in the last six months.