Rent for homes 'set to increase' as supply drops

RENTS look set to increase during the months ahead after the number of homes available to let fell for the second quarter in a row, research showed yesterday.

A third more surveyors expect the cost of renting a property to rise during the coming three months than those who think it will fall, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Their expectations are being driven by a continued decline in the supply of flats and houses available to let, as homeowners who were forced to rent out their properties after being unable to sell them, are putting them back on the market again.

RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf said: "It is becoming clear that movements in the housing market are affecting lettings."