Renting in London: tenants’ return to the capital sparked ‘conveyor belt’ viewings and rent hikes amid drop in supply

The number of rental homes in the capital is down 53 per cent on last year.
South-west London agent Patrick Henry has let a four-bed house-share in Clapham south for £4,250. It originally went on the market for £3,900.
Handout
Ella Jessel16 March 2022

London tenants are again facing fierce bidding wars, block viewings and rent hikes as the capital’s rebounding rental market sparks a flat-hunting frenzy.

An influx of people going back to offices after the pandemic, combined with a shortage of new flats, has sent rents soaring to an average rent of £1,899 a month – according to Hamptons.

This is an extreme turnaround from the start of pandemic, when younger renters moved back in with their parents, flooding the market with properties and causing rents to slump.

London bounced back fiercely at the end of last year, but crowds have returned to a severe shortage in rentals with supply in the capital down 53 per cent on last year, according to flat sharing site SpareRoom.

Gabriela Luna, a fashion designer who has lived in and around Hackney for 14 years, began flat-hunting last December after her landlord sold the house she was sharing.

Fashion designer Gabriela Luna put her belongings in storage and stayed with friends until she could find a new rental
Gabriela Luna

“When I called agents, they would say there would be 15 to 20 people viewing the property the same day. For the prices that were being advertised the flats were horrific. It was insane.”

One agent kept them waiting two weeks before rejecting them and even when they split off into smaller groups, they still got turned down or outbid.

Asking to view one three-bed house in Hackney, the agent told Luna upfront to offer “over the asking price” of £2,300 per month, or not to bother. “He said it would likely go for £2,900 so we didn’t even apply in the end.”

Unable to find anywhere before the February move out date, Luna put her belongings in storage and stayed with friends. Eventually she found a two-bedroom flat in Leyton, further away from her Tottenham studio. “It has been emotionally draining and I now I feel like I’m starting from zero,” she said.

Bidding wars are commonplace with the Tooting branch of Kinleigh, Folkard & Hayward getting eight offers in 24 hours for a four-bedroom house. It was eventually let to four sharers for £4,000 per month, £1,200 more month than it was previously rented for.

“As soon as they go online we are inundated,” said branch director Ashley Harris. “The only way we can get people in is by doing block viewings, so it’s like a conveyer belt.”

Meanwhile, south-west London agent Patrick Henry recently let a four-bed house-share in Clapham south for £4,250, or £1,050 per room. It originally went on the market for £3,900.

Last week, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called for the power to freeze rents to help tenants get “back on their feet” after the pandemic. Critics of rent control policies argue they can lead to a shortage in supply if landlords decide not to rent out their properties, therefore driving rents even higher.

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