Lettings market activity throughout June was significantly higher than recorded at the same time last year, the latest Rental Index from Goodlord has shown. As a result, rental costs are rising in the majority of regions and void periods are coming down, as tenants compete for new properties and the industry continues to see unprecedented demand after months of inactivity.

Lockdown forced the entire lettings industry (along with the rest of the world) into digital transformation and the “momentum behind digital-experience adoption is unlikely to reverse,” suggests the Harvard Business Review, while McKinsey notes that “there could be lasting changes to consumer attitudes towards physical distance [making it] possible to imagine a world of business—from the factory floor to the individual consumer—in which human contact is minimised.”

Agencies that succeed in the post-lockdown world will need to adapt their service offering to meet a completely different set of needs and expectations. “Consumer research by Nielsen asserts that, after the crisis, people’s daily routines will be altered by a new cautiousness about health, suggesting that some shifts in behaviour could be long-term,” notes Deloitte.

The consensus is clear: if you want your business to survive and thrive in the post-pandemic world, you need to be planning for multiple versions of the future. Don’t assume that just because we’ve come through the peak of COVID-19, it can’t happen again. Any plans for your agency in the short, medium, and long-term should reflect the ambiguity ahead.

This article was updated on 24 September 2020. Although we endeavour to keep our coronavirus (COVID-19) content as up to date as possible, the situation is rapidly changing, so please ensure you refer to gov.uk for the latest advice and information.

The government has changed the law to increase notice periods to six months and confirmed that possession proceedings will resume on 21 September 2020. The only exceptions to the six-month notice period are the most egregious cases, including where tenants have demonstrated anti-social behaviour or committed fraud, where notice periods have been shortened. In these cases, "notice periods must be at least 4 weeks where over six months of rent is due (if less than 6 months is owed, then 6 months’ notice must be given)." A "winter truce" on evictions also means that no evictions will take place between 11 December 2020 and 11 January 2021.

The latest data from Goodlord shows a remarkable bounce back in lettings activity since restrictions around moving house were lifted on 13th May. The first day of June saw new tenancies applications soar above 2019 levels to 111%. Volumes of new tenancy applications have now risen by over 82% compared to the activity levels seen in mid-April. As the market has picked up, the average cost of rent has held fairly steady, although void periods have understandably fluctuated. 

This article was published on 13 May 2020. Although we endeavour to keep our coronavirus (COVID-19) content as up to date as possible, the situation is rapidly changing, so please ensure you refer to gov.uk for the latest advice and information.

This article was published on 10 May 2020. Although we endeavour to keep our coronavirus (COVID-19) content as up to date as possible, the situation is rapidly changing, so please ensure you refer to gov.uk for the latest advice and information.

The latest Goodlord Rental Index has shown rents dropping across five out of eight UK regions monitored during April, as the lockdown continues to impact the lettings markets. At the same time, void periods have shifted throughout the month, with some regions faring better than others. Overall, April saw volumes of new and completed tenancies drop rapidly in the run up to Easter before rebounding and finding equilibrium towards the end of the month.

This article was published on 30 April 2020. Although we endeavour to keep our coronavirus (COVID-19) content as up to date as possible, the situation is rapidly changing, so please ensure you refer to gov.uk for the latest advice and information.

ARLA Propertymark CEO David Cox answered agents’ questions on everything from the impact of the lockdown on letting agents and legislation to the Regulation of Property Agents in a Goodlord webinar (watch the full recording here). Cox’s overriding advice for letting agents during the lockdown was that they should be “putting everything on pause”, rather than cancelling pending transactions. “The first Friday out of lockdown is probably going to be one of the biggest moving days in the lettings industry's history.”