Lettings- it’s a very busy market place at the minute.
I thought it would be useful to share some stats from this time last year compared to this year, from Letting Web only, to give you an idea of how fast paced it is:
March 21
- Average Properties Advertised, 9,
- time to rent 11 days,
- average rent £823
- Enquiries Phone 145, email 583, TOTAL 728
March 22
- Average Properties Advertised, 48,
- time to rent 7 days,
- average rent £936
- Enquiries Phone 265, email 1099, total 1364
We use an online booking system, IRE, that is also fantastic and capturing information
Total enquiries in 2022, has been 6,317 for just 110 advertisements.
So as we can see the demand is huge. Why is this?
There is a shortage of available property, due to lack of new builds over the last few years, and now we have almost gotten back to the migration of people for work and university that we saw pre-pandemic.
Also renters know what they want and properties with outdoor space, in particular, are generating much more interest.
But perhaps the biggest thing on everyone’s mind now, due to demand for rentals and rising cost of living and how does that translate to rents?
Rents are going up across the board, and that’s not good for tenants. So whilst it is tempting for Landlord’s to increase the rent, we should be asking, do we really need to?
Here are some points to consider for both landlord’s and tenants :
Landlords-
- Is you rental below the market value?
Have a look at comparables online, ask your agent if you have one, and think: if your property is renting for less than the comparable properties, why is that?
Is my property the same standard, is it better and why (bigger rooms, better energy performance etc). If you have simply undervalued your property, I think it’s fair to implement a modest increase. - Landlord’s should always try and make sure they offer tenants value for money, one of my biggest bug bears is landlord’s comparing rents from very different areas of Dundee and different quality of property and assuming the rent should be the same. Ask yourself, what areas and kind of property do I think represents the better value?
Putting the rent up isn’t always better!
- It’s tough for everyone to pay for basics like utilities and groceries, tenants may be struggling financially. Do you really want to add to that or can you afford to hold off?
- If you put the rent up tenants may have to move, with only 4 weeks’ notice. Do you value how your tenants keep the property; do they pay consistently, is it worth losing them over a few extra pounds?
Tenants –
- Always know your value and negotiate with your landlord or agent to ensure that you always pay a fair market value rent.
- If your landlord does wish to increase your rent, make sure that you receive the correct notice. Your landlord or agent is required to give you a rent increase notice, 3 months in advance of the proposed increase.
PRT Update
The extended notice periods introduced for the Covid Act, have now been removed. Meaning that in most cases the notice period for a notice to leave will be between 28 to 84 days. Although all grounds are still discretionary.
