Rents across Glasgow have spiked dramatically with the average monthly cost rising to £1,000 as the city continues to feel the effects of a shortage of available properties.
The rental market has been described as "frenzied" by letting professionals with properties snapped up at record speeds. Latest research from letting portal Citylets has revealed that around half of all one and two-bedroom properties are being let within one week and all properties on average are on and off the market within a month.
For a one-bedroom property the average rent is now £786 - a 14.1% rise in just one year - with a two-bed now costing on average £1,087 and three bed £1,537. All the prices have more than doubled over the last decade with the cost of a three-bedroom property now 80% higher than it was in 2012.
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Landlords selling up to avoid the wave of greater regulation expected in the market has further constricted the supply of available homes according to experts.
Wendy Gallagher of One Stop Properties, said: "It has been a frenzy of prospective tenants struggling to find accommodation in the city, and once again, we find ourselves with no available stock.
"The properties are reserved on the 1st viewing which is great for landlords, however, difficult for the unsuccessful candidates. The bank of investors we previously had on our books is disappearing quicker than we have ever witnessed.
"The Scottish Government is not helping the housing crisis and instead of putting a freeze on rent increases and evictions, they should be focusing on helping the PRS. Without the private landlords, the industry will have catastrophic consequences.”
One prospective renter, Louise, said some letting agencies are asking applicants to 'propose' how much rent they are willing to pay, with the landlord then able to pick the highest.
Louise told Glasgow Live: "While I'm super happy about the rent freeze win, I'm currently looking for a flat in Glasgow and due to it not covering raising prices between tenancies I'm having trouble.
"In application forms, agencies are listing the advertised rent, then leaving a space for the applicant to write their 'proposed rent'. When I rang an agency about this I was told that they have to pass on all offers to the landlord, and they expect them to choose the highest. This means that for tenants trying to move, though their rent will be frozen upon finding somewhere, their initial rent is a 'bid' essentially. As a result of this, I've just seen a property which boasts 'fixed price'.
"The new rent freeze is amazing and protects so many, but it doesn't help those who haven't yet found a flat. I rang an agency today, only hours after posting, and 215 enquiries had already been made so I was not able to even enquire. This also means 215 people could be 'bidding' against each other."
Meg Bishop, secretary of the tenants union Living Rent, commented: "These eye-watering statistics expose how untenable the situation is for Scotland's renters. They also show that landlords will stop at nothing to milk profit out of people desperate for a roof over their heads. Rents skyrocketing between tenancies coupled with a complete lack of supply as many landlords convert their properties into holiday lets is pushing many tenants into poverty.
"The rent freeze will provide temporary relief for most tenants, but with rents continuing to rise between tenancies way beyond affordable levels, it is clear we need a permanent solution to the crisis. That has to mean rent controls that bring down rents, and the rent freeze must last until the day rent controls come in, otherwise, these figures show that landlords will hike up rents the moment the rent freeze ends, driving tenants further into poverty.”
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