For several weeks now various agencies have been reporting a flood of tenants, but dearth of flats available to rent out. For several weeks we have included a Rental Index Graph in the blog menu (look left!) for the use of our readers, and now Mortgage Introducer has published some figures produced by the owners of several agencies LSL Property Services plc.
The average rent in the UK rose by 1% in June, with rents in London rising by 1.9%. Rents have risen for five successive months, and are 3.2% higher than a year ago – the highest level since November 2008.
Right now it’s tough for tenants in the rental market, and you may wonder what you need to do to get a decent flat. The answer is pretty much the same as you would in easier times, the problem is the same and the answer is the same. Over the last 2 years we’ve published a number of articles aimed at helping tenants get the right flat at the right price. Today I’m going to summarise the whole challenge of renting a London Flat, linking you to the detailed advice for each stage.
Perhaps the single most important point to make, is that desperate people make easy targets for scammers. I’ve written a whole range of articles describing all the scams in operation. Read all my articles about scams, and don’t be taken in, you can use the tag cloud to identify scam articles .
When you visit a flat that you don’t rule it out on sight, then give it a good going over, upstairs, downstairs in the ladies chamber. Recently a study revealed that the average house purchaser only spent 42 mins examining the house they were going to buy! So look in the loft, check all storage cupboards, make sure taps, radiators and the boiler all work, check the pressure on the shower, open and close windows, look underneath and behind the furniture and turn off the lights to see how much natural light there is. Check services, telephone, broadband and wireless internet. Talk to any neighbours to see if you will get on with them, and if they are tenants of the same landlord find out whether they would recommend the landlord.
Finally when you are sure that this is the flat for you it’s time to negotiate. Negotiating isn’t haggling and we spell out how to get the best deal for your flat in our 10 Steps to a Lower Rent for your London Flat
Thank you for the info, but I do not realy believe in that “I’m sorry but the flats immediately available have now been let.”
These stories every letting agent do the same. I am not interesting in studio for much higher price! so when you have for the same price similer as it is advertised tell me about cheap flat.
She was clearly frustrated and angered by her search for a cheap flat, and so when reading my mail telling her that the flat she had enquired about had been let, she had missed the point that the other vacancies that I was describing were cheaper! So I was able to reply:
I can understand that you are fed up with chasing after flats which are bargains only to find that they have been let and that those still available are more expensive. Had you considered that maybe it’s simply that the bargains get let quicker than the others?
We are regularly introducing new flats to the market, and they then rent extremely quickly because they are superb quality at an excellent rent. If the flat that you have enquired about is no longer available it is not a sign that we are trying to get people to enquire after fictitious flats, but rather that our flats are cheap. You should have noticed that the flats now available are actually CHEAPER than the ones which you enquired about and have been let.
Right now it’s a landlord’s market, if you are hunting for a flat and see one reasonably priced – snap it up. If you don’t – someone else will have by the time you have finished thinking about it. Yesterday we had someone miss out on a flat because they were late arriving, and missed their viewing. Before they could arrange a new appointment the flat had gone.
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