Paragon Mortgages has reported that the proportion of landlords operating in Outer London who have reported increasing tenant demand has surged since the previous quarter.

Research undertaken on behalf of the Babk has highlighted that in Q1 2022, 79% of landlords who let homes in Outer London indicated that they had seen increases in tenant demand during the previous three months. The most recent wave of the survey covering Q2 2022 has revealed that this figure has grown to 85%, making Outer London the region with the highest net increase in tenant demand.

In addition to analysing changes in tenant demand during the previous three months, the survey also provides insight on current demand, another metric that illustrates the strong performance of the Outer London private rental market since the first quarter of the year.

Despite the South West being the region with the highest proportion of landlords (90%) reporting ‘strong’ demand currently, the biggest increase on Q1 2022 was seen in the proportion of those managing properties in the capital’s outer boroughs, rising from 72% in Q1 2022 to 85% in Q2 2022.

Linked to this and another indicator of demand for rented property in Outer London, the survey of over 700 landlords, undertaken by BVA BDRC, found that the incidence of voids has fallen dramatically since the same period a year ago. In Q2 2021, 35% of Outer London landlords said that they had experienced an empty property within the last three months, the second highest region behind the North East. A year on, Q2 2022 has seen this figure fall to 21%, with only landlords in the West Midlands less likely to have reported a void.

Richard Rowntree, mortgages managing director for Paragon Bank said: “We know that the private rental market in London was hit particularly hard by the Covid pandemic but has rebounded strongly since and these latest figures provide further evidence of this.

“As one of the world’s greatest cities, London is extremely dynamic, constantly evolving as a diverse mix of people come and go, calling it home as they study, work, travel or raise families. This is why it is important for the capital to have a thriving PRS, enabling people to benefit from the flexibility that rented homes provide.”