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The private rented sector has just got over the curse of the 'reluctant landlord' but now there is some good news for buy-to-let landlords as the UK housing market is experiencing a trend of ‘reluctant tenants',

These renters are those who have to rent, rather than want to rent as a result of a shift in supply and demand for properties, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents.

According to ARLA, at the end of 2009 an average 41% of letting agents surveyed reported more tenants than properties – compared with just 24% last quarter. In addition, ARLA research among landlords revealed that 54% of those asked felt that consumers were being forced to rent rather than buy.

Ian Potter, operations manager at ARLA says: "New tenants include those homeowners who were forced to sell their home during the last year either due to financial instability or a job-move. And many people now in a position to buy are struggling to find the right property, as there is also a shortage of both properties for sale and realistic mortgages. This rise in tenants is a positive sign for the industry, as it indicates increased market movement."

This is great news for the buy-to-let sector – tenant demand reached a low of 10% in February 2009, so now as things pick up landlords can finally cash in on more people looking to rent more properties. This, hopefully will translate into higher rents and if the landlord has the right mortgage, more rental profits.

ARLA also found that the average void period for the UK down from four weeks to 3.9 weeks, as tenants snap up available properties quickly – so as well as more demand and more room for higher rents landlords can be confident that if they have an empty property, it is not empty for long.

SOURCE: ARLA, 23/01/10

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