London property rental market news & updates

The UK Government recently unveiled landmark reforms with the Renters Reform Bill in order to bring significant changes to the country’s private and public rental sectors. This bill proposes to end no-fault evictions for tenants and ensure a fairer Private Rented Sector for landlords — who will be able to recover properties easily from anti-social tenants.

Spring is in the air at last and a sense of optimism is returning to the London property market as we move into one of the busiest times of the year. London house prices seem to be resilient; mortgage interest rates are coming down and we are seeing the traditional ‘spring bounce’ in the sales market.

Traditionally, Spring is when the Japanese market kicks into high gear and this year is no different. What has changed is the fact that more and more Japanese tenants have engaged in online viewing before they arrive in London. This trend means that through February and March, we have already received offers concerning tenancies which start later in April and May.

In an economic climate where homeowners are thinking of ways to lessen the load of rising costs, renting out a property is now a serious option. This trend has the welcome effect of increasing rental stock and loosening up the market; no one wants a hothouse situation. However, this small stock gain follows a period …

Continue reading “London rental stock levels gradually pick up through February”

Even by its usual frenetic standards, the London rental market started 2023 at a very fast pace and our Japan Desk has been kept extremely busy. The number of transactions is already up 33% on Jan/Feb 2022 levels and we are now seeing signs that the traditional peak period is set to return in March/April, so we are advising our corporate clients to plan ahead.

A steadier economic climate leads us to believe that predictions of a housing crash coupled with double digit-inflation are way off the mark. That being said, the economic laws of supply and demand continue to dictate the direction of the London rentals market.

Throughout 2022, we’ve seen growing demand for homes in London from both Hong Kong and Chinese nationals. Firstly, Hong Kong professionals continue to move to the UK using the government’s BNO visa scheme and secondly, Chinese students have again been taking up places at London universities after more than two years of Covid lockdowns.

Throughout 2022, we have seen phenomenal rental demand across London – with enquiry levels continuing to climb, even in December which is usually a little quieter.  We have simply never experienced a year like it in terms of the number of professional applicants looking for a rental property in the Capital.  In fact, we’ve seen the …

Continue reading “London property rental demand ends the year on an all time high”

Demand for rental properties in London has remained at an all-time high over the last few weeks, intensified by seasonal market pressures; international students have moved to the Capital for the start of the autumn term, new graduates are moving here to start their careers and corporate relocations are picking up dramatically, now that Covid …

Continue reading “Peak season for rental demand in London”

At the moment, more people want to live in London than there is available property and we are slap bang in the middle of a red-hot rental market where demand for rental properties is the highest we have EVER seen and this is leading to rents increasing across the board. There are many driving factors …

Continue reading “London rental market hits record rents amid property shortage”

Demand created by the return of professionals and international students to London is adding to the growing shortage of available properties to rent in the city and the market remains extremely challenging.  In fact, as enquiry levels have continued to increase over the summer, across our nineteen branches, this is the most competitive London rental …

Continue reading “London rental properties letting within hours – some within minutes”

Chinese students are driving demand for rental accommodation in London over the summer as they return to university or take up new places now that Covid restrictions have eased.   The number of Chinese students arriving in the UK is increasing and now appears to be similar to pre-pandemic levels. In some locations such as Wapping, …

Continue reading “Summer rental demand from Chinese students back to pre-pandemic levels”