Rural tenants are returning to London after a pandemic exodus

Of the current tenants who have moved to the city this year, more than half have come from home counties. Aneisha Beveridge of the Hamptons said the trend shows that life in the capital is “slowly returning to normal”.

Just as the growth of teleworking has allowed residents to leave London when the pandemic hit, Ms Beveridge said it has now played a big part in the capital’s recovery.

She said: “Fewer tenants are moving to the capital specifically for work, in fact more and more tenants are choosing to live in London, working completely remotely and could live almost anywhere in the country. “

A third of those who moved to London this year did so mainly because of work, which fell from 40 percent in 2019. “The loose nature of many jobs today means culture and lifestyle and not employment will be the biggest place in the capital,” he said. “they added. Mrs. Beveridge.

April was the second month in a row that rent growth in the capital surpassed the national average, which rose by 9.8 percent last year, which is also a record.

The fastest growth was in the south-west of England, where average rents rose by almost 14 per cent to £ 1,041 by April, followed by London and the north of England, where rents rose 9.4 per cent to £ 762 a month. .

The record growth in rents was driven by a chronic shortage of rental housing. In April, 30 percent less property was available for rent compared to last year and nearly two-thirds less than the pre-pandemic average.

The biggest drop in availability was in the North West of England, where stock levels fell 76 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, and Yorkshire and Humber and London, where supply fell 67 per cent and 64 per cent respectively.