With summer approaching, the rentals market has been hotting up, hopefully with the weather to match.

Susan Cohen, head of lettings at Blenheim Bishop, notes a rise in applicants looking for one and two-bedroom apartments in the £350 to £750 a week band.

“Although stock levels have risen, there are still not enough properties to satisfy demand for good quality one and two-room places in prime central areas. This has led to the return of bidding wars where offers have exceeded asking prices. Ninety-five per cent of renewals are achieving increases of about five per cent as tenants realise there is little
choice if they decide to move,” she says.

Landlords are having to go that extra mile to make property stand out. Mood lighting, air conditioning and surround- sound systems were once only to be found in properties at the top end, but have become more commonplace as landlords realise they need to keep abreast with new property including all the ‘toys.’

“We had a new tenant who wasn’t satisfied with standard Sky TV and wanted his own aerial to receive more obscure foreign channels. He expected the landlord to pay for installation and the licence fee and was offended that the landlord refused, having drawn the line after purchasing expensive furniture to suit the tenant’s personal taste,” Cohen adds.

Lucy Morton of WA Ellis is concerned landlords may be getting confusing and conflicting advice from agents.

“The market is hard for some agents to call as rents have risen sharply,” she says. “We advised a client recently on the price of his property. Suggestions from other firms varied from £3500 to £8000 a week. We valued it at £6750, comparing it with other property we’ve let in the area, and were duly instructed. We matched it to our database and let it within a month of marketing.”