Landlords benefit from profitable returns as rents rise

UK rents are currently rising at the fastest pace since last autumn, according to the latest Index. Rents have risen by 0.3% month on month in April to reach an average of £793 per calendar month across England and Wales.

Rents are now at the highest they have ever been in the East Midlands, West Midlands and East of England.

In the East of England, average rents were £848pcm in April after experiencing 4.8% rent rises over the last year, reveals the Index by Your Move and Reeds Rains.

As a result of annual rent rises of 6.2%, the average rents in the West Midlands are now pushing past the £600pcm threshold.

Property in the East Midlands has seen a significant annual rent rise of 8.5% which has increased rents to a record high of £616pcm as of April.

“These figures show that the repercussions of the stamp duty changes which came in to effect on April 1st are still impacting the buy to let market. As landlords offset their additional costs with increased rents, they need to be aware that not all tenants will be able to afford these increased costs,” said a spokesperson for Property 118’s landlord insurance provider Discount Insurance.

“Landlords need to guard against tenants who may default on their payments with Rent & Legal Protection Insurance,” added the spokesperson.

Buy to let is still outperforming all other major asset classes with total annual returns reaching 10.7% in April or £19,538 in real terms.

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