Residential rentals 'are picking up'

Published on Sunday 27 September 2009 21:45

THE residential rental market is beginning to stabilise with property oversupply decreasing across the UK and the number of new tenancies increasing, according to the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla).

Claiming that the property market as a whole was "getting back on its feet", the Arla survey also found the historical decline in numbers of tenants, which led to a surplus of properties to rent, was coming to an end.

An estimated 83 per cent of Arla members signed up ten or more tenancies during the past quarter, compared with 79 per cent in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, new research has found that seven in ten homeowners think their house would be at risk if they were out of work for more than three months. The Property Portfolio Rescue poll established that, while almost three-quarters of homeowners would be prepared to lose their home if made redundant, only 27 per cent of people have any financial plan or insurance in place; and 69 per cent believe they could survive financially for only three months without a job, with younger homeowners worst affected.