London renters face desperate battle as available homes nearly halve in a year

London renters are facing a desperate struggle to find places to live after an unprecedented drop in the number of flats and houses on the market.

The number of rental properties available in the capital last month fell 44% on 2021 and 25% below pre-pandemic levels, according to new data compiled for the Standard.

Figures are falling across all 32 boroughs and the City of London, with some of the most popular places to live, such as Islington, Lambeth, Hackney and Camden, seeing disastrous falls of more than 50% compared to last year.

Experts say a double whammy of landlords pulling out of the market due to tax and regulatory changes, combined with a number of young workers returning to live in the capital after the pandemic has created a perfect storm in the rental market .

Figures from analyst TwentyCI show that just 74,766 residential properties were available for rent in London in March, compared with 132,964 in the same month last year and an average of 100,274 between 2018 and 2020.

The biggest drop was in Islington, where they fell by 58% each year to 2,509, followed by the City, down 54% to 375, and Lambeth, down 53% to 2,834. The smallest fall was in Bexley, where there were just 633 properties available to rent, down 10%.

The deficit has pushed rents to record levels, with double-digit increases being pushed onto renters, exacerbating cost-of-living cuts.

It represents a dramatic turnaround since the pandemic lockdown, when many landlords struggled to find tenants as thousands lost their jobs or went on furloughs and returned to live with their parents or moved back to the country of origin.

Dan Wilson Craw, deputy director of campaign group Generation Rent, said: “The rush of people returning to London from summer 2021 has meant that houses to rent are being snapped up as soon as they are listed. Most tenants already in London avoid moving if they can help it, as rents are so much more expensive now.

“It’s bad news for people who have to move because of changes in circumstances or an eviction notice and they can’t compete with people who choose to move and can afford to pay more. The Government must do more to build more social housing in London and increase Local Housing Allowance so that tenants on benefits are not locked out of the market.”

Lucian Cook, director of residential research at Savills, said: “The London rental market has never before seen such a dramatic shift in the balance between supply and demand.

“In 2020, we have seen demand from key buyer groups dry up and not let stock build dramatically as stock previously in the short-term rental market also moved onto letting agents’ books. But the extent and speed with which this has reversed has taken us all by surprise… Tenants regularly find themselves in a competitive bidding environment and having to search multiple locations to secure a tenancy. “

Separate figures from property portal Rightmove showed that the time taken to find a tenant fell from 36 days to 17 days in the past year.

It had 68% fewer rental properties available in February compared to 2021 and 42% less than 2020 before the pandemic.

However, the number of new rental listings did not drop as dramatically, falling 35% from 2021 and 15% from 2020, suggesting they are being snapped up much faster, leaving fewer available on the market.

Savills said rents rose 11% in prime locations, the first double-digit growth since 2010. Rival agents Knight Frank said they saw even faster growth, with rents rising 23.3% in central London and 19% in London. Meanwhile, the number of new prospective tenants registered in February was 49% above the five-year average.

Gary Hall, head of lettings at Knight Frank, said: “There are some localized examples of the balance tipping in favor of tenants as supply increases, but the overall picture is still quite unbalanced, which should keep upward pressure on rental values ​​for a period of time. while still.”