Sealed bid system has not afflicted city's rental market

CONTROVERSIAL 'sealed bids' for rental properties - which are growing in prominence in England - are not on the scene in Edinburgh, letting agents insisted today.

Recent reports south of the Border have suggested that it is becoming more common for prospective tenants to be asked to make offers on rents to landlords in sealed envelopes.

But David Alexander, who heads up the DJ Alexander letting agency, insisted he has never heard of such a situation in Edinburgh. He said: "Not one of our landlords has ever asked us to let out a property on the basis of secret offers and if any did this is something we certainly would not encourage.

"The great thing about the Edinburgh rental market, from the tenant point of view, is its transparency and if this was lost then the market as a whole would suffer.

"People seeking accommodation can easily visit various agency websites and gauge the going rate for a property."