Undersupply of quality rental properties, says ARLA
The government should incentivise landlords to invest in more rental properties, the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA) has said.
According to the organisation, London lettings agents in particular have seen a huge surge in demand for rented property and supply is struggling to keep up.
It says that, during the second quarter of 2011, three quarters (74 per cent) of ARLA members reported that there were more prospective tenants than properties available - a figure that jumps to 82 per cent in central London.
In comparison, just two years ago the number of members reporting an undersupply of rental homes in the UK was ten per cent, and eight per cent in central London.
Ian Potter, operations manager at ARLA, said: "As many parties are reporting, there is a clear shortage of homes to buy in the UK. Faced with this, many people are turning to rental homes as a more flexible option than buying; yet as our research highlights, the dearth of properties is just as real in the private rented sector (PRS), and is showing no signs of improvement."
The industry body wants the government to offer greater incentives for landlords buying new property, while also bringing in tighter regulation of the sector.
"To work towards a solution, government needs to look seriously at ways of incentivising investment into the PRS to increase the number of properties available for rent," said Mr Potter.
"At the same time, it needs to look at ways of regulating what is becoming an increasingly popular housing option, so that consumers and landlords are protected from issues such as loss of rent monies and deposits as well as defaults on mortgage and rental payments."
However, there has been some improvement in activity in the buy-to-let housing market, ARLA research shows, with 16 per cent of agents saying landlords are buying properties, up from just 9.3 per cent a year ago.
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