Prospective tenants flooding into London this summer – along with the continued shrinkage in property numbers – is set to create one of the most competitive rental markets ever seen.

May bank holiday is when many 12-month and 18-month tenancies come to an end, explains Adam Jennings (main picture), regional lettings director for Chestertons’ southwest London area.

He says this time of year also heralds an increase in short-term summer rentals, when students finish exams and begin searching for somewhere to live, and companies start relocating staff to so that children can be ready for the new school term.

Far fewer

“With many landlords having sold their investments over the past few years, and many experienced tenants negotiating in order to extend their tenancies to three years or more, there will be far fewer properties available for all of these new tenants,” he says.

“This will create one of the most competitive markets that we’ve seen and is likely to nudge prices up further.”

Jennings expects there will be about 10% more properties coming onto the market in June, but this will be dwarfed by the number of tenants looking to move.

Uplift

Last year, Chestertons registered 23% more tenants in June compared to May and is expecting a similar uplift this year.

As a result, rents, which have been flattening out since last autumn, could rise by as much as 15-20% over the next few months, which means now is an ideal time for landlords to list their property, he adds.

Landlords with properties in central London saw the highest levels of tenant demand across England and Wales in the last quarter of 2022. Earlier this year, Foxtons reported that 2022 had 32% fewer listings in the capital than 2021 while demand remained high, finishing the year 14% higher.

Read more about rent rises.