Rental rates soar by a fifth

The number of new tenancy agreements signed in the UK has risen by almost 20 per cent in the past three months alone, highlighting the financial strains felt by many households in the UK today.

The figures, from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla), show the number of rentals is rising in the face of increasing costs of living and high interest rates, also forcing up the cost of a mortgage.

Commenting on the latest figures, Ian Potter, Arla's head of operations, said: "This steady rise in rental growth that we see yet again, coupled to clear evidence that there is no unusual selling, proves once again that the credit crunch effect on the private rented sector exists only in the imagination.

"This is underlined by the short void periods and length of time that tenants stay in rental properties."

September 16^th 2008

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