According to recent surveys many landlords are now selling their properties albeit reluctantly, and this is driving the cost of rents up for tenants who wish to rent a property.

The figures show that in the month of July rents on properties across England and Wales increased by around 0.5 percent compared to June, which, according to one industry group was the fastest rate increase in the space of a year.

With the mortgage markets still in turmoil, and many unable to get their hands on an affordable mortgage there are still many people that are desperate to rent a property in England and Wales.

The news that rents are now rising despite the all time low base interest rate will cause problems for many of those hoping to rent a home until the situation eases up, as they could find that they are no longer able to afford the rent on the type of property that they have been hoping to rent.

One official from the Association of Residential Lettings Agents said that whilst the choice for consumers had been increased over the past eighteen months, due to many homeowners being unable to sell their homes and therefore deciding to rent them out, this was a situation that was now changing.

He said: “Many sellers were left with little option other than to rent their properties out earlier in the year but this trend seems to be slowly diminishing.”

Another official commented on how difficult it was for many to now get onto the property ladder, stating: “You probably need to be looking to 25% to 40% deposits now, which is a lot higher than we used to see.

That really is the key to the whole housing market, and economic recovery, as we need to see the banks loosening the purse strings and allowing us some access to some of that government cash that they are all awash with.”

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