According to recent research conducted by by BM solution on behalf of BDRC , over a third of landlords have reported that continued demand in the rental sector has started to level off.

Apparently tenant demand was highest in the East of England and London yet landlords reported the lowest interest in the Humberside and Yorkshire regions. It was reported that approximately 35% of landlords had seen tenant demand plateau, the largest score recorded sincethe second quarter of 2012.

Across the the rest of the British Isles, approximately 68% of landlords in the tenancy market said they were confident in the prospects for the future with the survey finding landlords are increasingly optimistic about the state of the wider economy despite reports to the contrary.

The rental yield across the UK fell slightly on average in the third quarter of 2013 to 6%. The North East was the strongest performing area with an average return of 6.7% while the lowest, Humberside and Yorkshire, recorded typical yields of 5.7%.

Landlords were also experiencing more periods of unnoccupancy than the previous quarter with over 35% reporting a void in the last three months which has a knock-on effect from an insurance perspective limiting the perils covered despite landlords insurance and empty house insurance prices holding firm also. This was 3% up on the previous quarter but the better news was that the average unoccupancy void spell has dropped to 64 days.

Phil Rickards, head of sales at BM Solutions was quoted as saying “The squeeze on spending does mean that we’re seeing more landlords using their rental income to supplement the cost of living.”However, confidence in the UK property market is leading to more people entering the market, importantly seeing it at as long term investment rather than focusing on the short term.” For vacant building insurance please contact Insurance Dealer.