UK Property: Buyer's Letting Market Leaves Landlords in the Lurch

Last year, many people who couldn't sell their UK property, or at least not for the price they wanted, but who were still determined to move, decided that renting it out was a good alternative. But now, as saturation of the lettings market pushes rents downwards; and potential tenants gain the power to haggle, renting is becoming just as bad as their position was a year earlier.

And that is before taking into consideration the growing number of tenants finding it increasingly difficult to pay the rent on their existing properties.

Rental property supply increased by 88% in January according to the Globrix property search engine, and this is when the problems for landlords really began to surface.

Shrewd tenants are really taking advantage of the situation; moving for the sake of it and letting larger properties in better locations for the same rental rate.

Last month, Knight Frank's report into the London property market said rents had fallen in line with property prices, meaning yields had increased; according to various sources it is now clear that rental yields will quickly begin to fall if this trend continues, and there is very little to suggest it won't.