The average void period – a key indicator of the buoyancy of the rental market – has fallen to its lowest level for eight years from 3.6 weeks to 3.2 weeks, as demand for rental property remains high, according to ARLA’s latest quarterly member survey

Ian Potter, Operations Manager of ARLA, said: “The rental market is incredibly strong at the moment for those working within the industry but for those consumers who are relying on the Private Rental Sector for housing, the cost of renting must be of concern.

Average void periods for rented residential properties are already short with nearly eight out of ten ARLA member offices reporting averages of four weeks or less per year.

The South East has experienced the lowest void period at just 2.9 weeks compared with 3.3 weeks for Central London and 3.4 weeks for the rest of the UK.

The average void period of the whole country is down quite sharply and is the third consecutive fall. Average voids have decreased in all three main geographical areas with the greatest decrease being for those outside London and the South East (from 3.9 to 3.4 weeks).

Geographic Average Void Period (weeks)
Area Q3.09 Q4.09 Q1.10 Q2.10
Prime Central London 4.0 3.8 3.6 3.3
South East 3.8 3.7 3.2 2.9
Rest of UK 4.2 4.2 3.9 3.4
Whole Country 4.0 3.9 3.6 3.2

ARLA say that the rental market has made a dramatic recovery since the beginning of 2009 when void periods were close to an all-time high. The fall in voids in the last four quarters confirms that the trend has now turned firmly downwards again and the average for this quarter is the lowest since these surveys began nearly ten years ago.

Regional Analysis

Average void periods are lowest in the Rest of London (2.8 weeks) than anywhere else in the country with most other regions having averages between 3.4 weeks and 3.7 weeks per year.

The exceptions to this are the Rest of the South East at 3.0 weeks and

the South West at 3.1 weeks. Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland have the highest average void period at 3.7 weeks per year. The largest reduction was in the Midlands (down from 4.2 to 3.5 weeks).

Geographic Average Void Period (weeks)
Region Q1.10 Q2.10
Central London 3.8 3.5
Rest of London 2.5 2.8
Rest of South East 3.4 3.0
South West 3.6 3.1
Midlands 4.2 3.5
North West 3.9 3.5
North East 3.6 3.4
Scotland/Wales/NI 3.9 3.7