Rents in London have begun to dip, as the supply of rental property on the market overtakes demand as a vast number of sellers decide to let their property, reports Cluttons.

Cluttons’ South Kensington office reported that over the last month, rents have fallen by up to -5% in South Kensington, Chelsea and Knightsbridge, where the supply of property has doubled since the same time last year.

Tenants have become more demanding as the market swings in their favour and landlords are now less likely to receive the uplift in rents at renewal that they might previously have achieved. Cluttons believes they should consider making improvements to their property or offering added extras such as cleaners or gardeners to make their property more appealing.

Amelia Greene, partner for lettings at Cluttons’ South Kensington office, said: “The struggling sales market has fuelled a mini boom in lettings, but we are now starting to see rents dip across the board, as the number of new tenants coming to the market levels off.

“To prosper in the current conditions, landlords must have realistic expectations regarding rental income and steer clear of void periods at all costs. A number of ‘accidental landlords’ who have come to the market reluctantly after failing to sell their property, are refusing to budge at all on the asking rent, instead settling for void periods which professional landlords know are seriously detrimental to yields.”

There is so much choice, that tenants are viewing vast numbers of properties before committing, meaning that the ratio of tenants converting from viewing to contract is currently very low.