Thursday 08 December 2016 3:05 pm

Rental supply increased by seven per cent in November

By: Helen Cahill

Rental supply increased by 6.8 per cent in November, the second month of growth in a row.

The figures from Property Partner show that the supply in London fell, however, down by 1.2 per cent month-on-month. In October, rental listings in London fell by three per cent.

Read more: Upset landlords say they'll up rents due to Hammond's letting agent fee ban

The number of rental properties dropped in over half of London's boroughs. Kingston upon Thames was the worst affected, with supply falling by 12.3 per cent. In Barking and Dagenham and Kensington and Chelsea, supply fell by 10.7 per cent and and 10.4 per cent respectively.

The highest growth was in Harrow, where the supply was up by 3.4 per cent, and the City of Westminster, where supply increased by 2.5 per cent.

The buy to let property market has been rocked by George Osborne's increase to stamp duty tax, which came in at the beginning of April this year. Landlords were then hit again in chancellor Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement. He abolished letting agents' fees for buyers, saying that landlords should be footing the bill.

Read more: Tax changes to force 440,000 landlords up a tax bracket

The figures from Property Partner contradict predictions that Osborne's tax changes would lead to wholesale declines in the availability of rental accommodation. In Bristol and Southampton, supply jumped by 162.7 per cent and 108.2 per cent respectively.

Dan Gandesha, founder and chief executive of Property Partner, said: "It has been another encouraging month for prospective tenants on the hunt for new rental properties.

"Both October and November saw consecutive increases in the supply of new listings, somewhat silencing any murmurings that we were in for an era of depressed rental supply. In some towns and cities it even appears to be a renters' market."