Rents rise at 6.6% a year but pace is slowing

Zoopla has predicted that the sector is likely to see a continued slowdown in rental price growth to 5% in 2024.

This would be the result of further easing in demand from tenants, rather than landlords being able to make more properties available to let, it said.

Zoopla covers about 80% of the rental sector.

Rents for new lets have risen sharply over the last two years, for a host of reasons.

They include demand rising from students, but primarily because supply has not matched demand. Landlords have faced rising costs and some have sold up.

Lettings agents have reported that high demand has led to properties being listed and let far quicker than before the pandemic.