Void periods in which rental properties are left untenanted are now approaching their lowest level of incidence in five years.

After peaking in the third quarter of 2020, when 39 per cent of landlords reported having suffered void periods in the previous three months, the proportion has steadily declined, according to research undertaken by BVA BDRC for Paragon Bank.

Based on a surveying of 800 landlords, the study concluded that a quarter of landlords had empty rental properties at some point in the last three months.

Landlords in Wales were the worst affected, with 39 per cent reporting at least one empty let. In the South West and East of England, only 23 per cent  reported voids.

There were further signs of recovery in the London rental market. In the first quarter of 2020 some  68 per cent of Central London landlords reported at least one void period, the highest proportion of any region. Currently the figure is 24 per cent.

‘With sustained strong tenant demand and the constrained supply seen in both the rental and purchase markets, it comes as little surprise that void periods have reached a five-year low’, said Paragon Bank mortgages managing director Richard Rowntree.

‘This reinforces our belief that policy designed to support home ownership, which we support, should be carefully considered so as not to be at the detriment of a private rented sector that is evidently as important now as it’s ever been.

 ‘Put simply, we need more homes and achieving this will require an approach that sees all tenures viewed as solutions, with each catering to a diverse mix of people are different stages of their lives’.