This, coupled with the age of potential first time buyers increasing, means the average age of tenants is slowly going up, changing the demographics of demand for rental properties. More families renting have increased demand for larger properties and rental prices are increasing between 8-12 per cent due to a shortage of supply. Faced with a strong supply for quality properties and plenty of choice, landlords are increasingly restricting pets. Properties letting quickest are two and three bedroom houses, which have multiple viewings booked within a couple of days with three applicants wanting to proceed. One bedroom flats are taking a little longer to rent and seem to be most popular with the recently separated, whereas the usual target market is first-time renters. Maria Lucas said: “It is vital landlords keep up to date with the changing demographics of renters to make the best from their property investments. We are starting to see a trend of struggling sellers enquiring about renting their property. At this stage, this trend is a trickle yet most of these owners are indicating they will rent their property if it hasn’t sold by September, so we expect the short supply of rental property coming to the market may change.” There are many issues to consider before letting your property out. With more than 50 Acts of Parliament and 70 sets of regulations which landlords should be aware of, including fire regulations, health and safety issues, deposit protection, insurance certification, lender consent, rights of tenure etc, letting is a complex, specialist field. Contact Maria Lucas, managing director of Let Lucas Rental Specialists on 01926 350007 or visit www.rentalspecialists.co.uk for a free consultation with a qualified, licensed letting expert.