Tenant demand keeps buy to lets full for 50 weeks a year

Buy to let homes are standing empty for less time as demand from tenants continues to hot up.

Landlords can expect rental home voids of just 2.8 weeks a year –down from 3.5 weeks compared with a year ago.

The figure is the lowest since the first quarter of 2009, according to buy to let lender Paragon Mortgages.

The buy to let study also revealed around 45% of landlords have voids – times without a tenant – of less than two weeks a year, while a third (34%) have voids of three to four weeks.

The lender claims tenant demand has increased over the past two years as would-be buyers have had difficulties in raising a mortgage.

Nigel Terrington, Paragon chief executive, said: “We would expect the average void period to remain low during 2011 as a growing number of tenants compete for property in the private rented sector.”

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Meanwhile, increased tenant demand for rental property is seen as an opportunity that is encouraging competition between buy to let mortgage lenders.