Some two million households rent through the
private sector in the United Kingdom. Rents paid can range from £50 a week for a Highland
croft to figures as long as telephone numbers for mansions and apartments in the prime
areas of London - but these properties where the rents run into thousands of pounds a
week, are used by diplomats, trade missions and senior international executives needing a
base for entertaining on a grand scale as much as for finding somewhere to hang their
hats.
Accurate breakdowns of the total rental
market are notoriously difficult to come by. Estimates can be thrown into confusion by the
sheer volume of property rented without going through any agency able to record and
compute market data. However, the consensus view is that some 50% of all rentals are
arranged through letting and managing agents, of which some 30% to 40% are members of
recognised and respected professional organisations.
Outside London, each area will be driven by
its own special requirements. Edinburgh, or Stirling, at the gateway to the Highlands,
have their own contingents of international bankers and Hi-Tech executives. The
North East
and South Wales are renowned for their levels of inward investment. The towns along
motorway corridors like the M4, M27, or M56 are commonly selected as locations for the
headquarters of major growth industries. These attract new employees, permanent payroll or
short term contract, at all levels.
Some of this influx know they will move on
after a year or two. Others rent while looking around to buy while others will let out
their own property somewhere else in the country, intending to move back home in time.
Family commitments, ranging from looking
after elderly parents or relatives to the education of children, also play a part in the
decision about tenure, whether to rent or to buy.
