Rics: Rising rents expected as demand increases

Wednesday, May 26th 2010

People looking to rent a property could find it becomes more expensive to do so as demand is rising.

The residential lettings survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), published today (May 26th), found rents are being pushed higher.

Some 30 per cent of chartered surveyors reported rising rather than falling rents, compared with last year when 58 per cent revealed the opposite.

Jeremy Leaf, Rics spokesman, said this spells good news for buy-to-let owners who should get better returns.

"The news that buy-to-let specialists are beginning to lend again may also encourage investors to return to the market," he continued.

It is thought the increase is partly due to a drop of flats and houses on the market, forcing demand to outstrip supply.

Rics has approximately 100,000 qualified members across 140 countries, many of which participate in such surveys to determine the situation in the property industry.