Property Rental News; Sealed Bidding

People looking for houses to rent in many parts of the UK are encountering a new hurdle in their hunt for a home reports the BBC

Landlords, or more often their letting agents, are increasingly asking would-be tenants to compete by making "sealed bid" offers for the home they want.

The practice is relatively commonplace in the market to buy homes, but is seen as a new development in the rental sector.

The demand for rented property is rising during the mortgage drought.

Many more families and individuals find they cannot afford or get mortgages, so they are having to compete against each other to secure a tenancy.

Agents say sealed bids may only be asked for where there is intense competition for a limited supply of properties.

This is most likely to be in areas where first-time buyers or others cannot get mortgages and have to keep renting. It is also a market response to higher rental prices.

London has experienced the biggest rise in rents, but other regions are not immune. More than a third of landlords surveyed by the National Landlords Association said they were seeing higher rents in Wales, Scotland and the North West of England.