Voice of London

Many industries have been postponed since the start of 2020 with some still struggling to stay afloat. Due to the work from home policy, many Londoners decide to go back to their home cities, to avoid the expensive London rent.

The pandemic has caused global demand for renting to plummet since many countries have entered lockdown conditions. People’s mental health, business plan, and personal lives have all been affected by it.

The UK renting industry has been struggling since the start of the pandemic. The engagement by tenants in London has dropped 4.1% over the last six months.

The London Assembly Housing Committee has published its latest housing survey results. 14 percent of Londoners are willing to move out of London and 33 percent want to move to a new home.

Angeles, a previous resident of London City Island, said:

“I had the thought of leaving London and moving back home when I first started working from home. I work for a small tech company, most of my work can be done at home during the lockdown. The company has sent me everything I need, there’s literally no point traveling to work anymore. If there’s no point traveling to work, why am I still here paying nearly £2000 rent every single month? That’s when I decided to leave, and now I’m back home in Oxfordshire. I’m now living in my parents’ housing, not paying any rent. I’m feeling good”.

There are many people just like Angeles, paying expensive rent in order to stay closer to their workplace. Now, with the opportunity to work remotely, it would see an increasing number of people return to their hometowns.

In other cases, some tenants are struggling to pay rent. Many landlords have been forced to drop their rents in this situation. As a result, a drop in rent would lead to a bounce-back in the renting market.

Jack Kuecker, director of the Spotahome, said: “The UK market is set for a swift comeback.” There are signs on the market currently suggesting that the number of tenants is going up again as a result of the dropping rent fee.

Apart from the comeback of the renting market, the UK buying market is growing as well even under the impact of the pandemic. The Stamp Duty Holiday seems like the leading role for the biggest growth in housing demand.

Here are 5 recommended websites for renting in the UK:

Words: Ye Qiu | Subbing: Michael Patcha