The country’s capital is now home to almost 20% of rental properties in the UK and it accounts for nearly half of the total value of those homes.
Currently, there are 1,048,000 houses in London’s private rented sector, accounting for almost a fifth of the 5.3 million private rental homes available across Britain. The value of these houses, however, comes up to a total of £558 billion, which is almost half (44%) of the total £1.3 trillion value of the sector.
The figures from Kent Reliance give yet another insight into how difficult it actually is to get onto the capital’s housing ladder.
This is not to say, however, that https://www.buyassociationgroup.com/en-gb/2016/11/16/renting-uk-no-spare-rooms-available/ renting is any cheaper in the big city. Rent in London now averages at £1,705 a month, more than twice the British average of £881 per month.
London’s landlords therefore are making a combined total amount of £1.8 billion every month.
Whilst this sounds like an impressive amount, landlords haven’t been particularly please with their lot lately. With the additional stamp duty surcharge earlier this year and Philip Hammond’s decision to abolish letting agents fees for tenants, the landlord is the one to pick up the slag. And this is becoming more difficult in a city where prices are high and yields comparably low.
Andy Golding, chief executive OneSavings Bank, said: “Property investors have had to roll with the punches in 2016. The stamp duty levy clearly took its toll on the market, and combined with the forthcoming tax changes, landlords have felt at the mercy of the political agenda.
But confidence is returning as landlords take action to limit the damages to their finances. The use of limited companies is soaring, and rents are increasing, even after one of the biggest surges in rental supply in recent history.”
