Stock volume in the Scottish PRS rockets 32% in the last month of the quarter as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic took hold. A deluge of property arrived to the PRS from the short term letting sector in some areas such as Edinburgh where stocks rose a full 66% over the course of March. Tenants also took advantage of the flexibility of the new PRS tenancies and an unseasonal numbed notices to quit were served including many student HMO properties. Volumes of new lets eased over the course of the month and came to a virtual standstill by month end when restrictions on movement were formally introduced. Arriving late in the quarter, the pandemic did not however materially impact on the rental or time to let trends for Q1 2020 which operated broadly in line with expectations over the quarter as a whole.
“While the sales market may be on hiatus for the moment, with Registers of Scotland having been closed to regular transactions, the lettings market is seeing rapid restructuring as landlords who had been active in the short term let sector have seen demand and revenue evaporate. With regulation of the short term let sector primed for 2021, the outbreak of the Coronavirus has made a pending consideration an instant concern. In the past few weeks, we have seen many short term landlords move their properties into long term rental, as well as fielding new enquiries from Airbnb landlords who are trying to mitigate income loss caused by Covid-19.”
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