Average residential rents fell by 4.3% around the UK last month according to new figures from haart. The market data report from one of the UK’s leading independent estate agent shows that residential rent levels (including London) are now averaging £919 a month for May, down some 4.3% on April.

However residential rents outside of London rose, albeit only by 0.7%, to £791 over the same period. Rents on the whole have been slowing down steadily since the start of the year in the wake of record rises during 2011.

The number of new applicants looking to rent with haart continues to increase with as many as seven people chasing every available property in certain parts of London and the South East.

Commenting, Andrew Benn, Managing Director of haart Residential Lettings said: “After the record rises we saw in 2011, rents have been slowing down steadily in recent months, which is good news for prospective tenants considering renting a property in the near future.

”At the same time, we are seeing long-term tenancies becoming commonplace, so whilst landlords may not achieve the same rents as previously enjoyed, they are benefitting from the security of tenure and with it minimising the potential for expensive void periods.”
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Empty homes initiative gets funding boost

A further multi-million pound cash boost for communities will help tackle the blight of empty properties and bring thousands of homes back into use, according to Communities Minister Andrew Stunell.

Twenty successful councils will each receive a slice of £60 million from the Government to tackle clusters of empty homes in their locality. In addition, voluntary and community groups across the country will receive over £25 million to tackle individual empty properties in their area, ensuring that another 5,600 empty homes are lived in once again.

The number of long term empty homes has fallen to the lowest level since 2004 at a total of 720,000 empty homes across England.

Announcing the latest government initiative, Andrew Stunell said: "The number of empty homes in this country is a national disgrace - for every two families that need a home there is one standing empty. Empty homes bring down a neighbourhood and attract vandals and fly-tipping, as well as being a waste of much needed housing.”

The announcement brings the total investment to £215 million to bring empty properties back into use. Ministers believe that targeting the funding in this manner will have more success than previous attempts, such as the Pathfinder programme, that too often left families living in half-empty ghost streets.

To-date, twenty successful bids from local authorities have been announced under the ‘Clusters of Empty Homes Fund’: www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/clusters-of-empty-homes
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