Homelet Rental Index

Summary

Homelet specialises in tenant referencing and insurance services for the residential rental property sector and has used reference data submitted by around 3,000 landlords to provide information on average rental prices since 2009. Typically, references of around 39,500 tenants are checked by Homelet each month.

Data

The Homelet Rental Index shows the average mean monthly rent in the UK, with a regional breakdown complete with monthly and annual comparisons in the average rent. It also provides information about rises and falls in average tenant income. More in depth analysis looking at London's rental property market is also provided.

Methodology

Because the information submitted is based on reference applications the rental prices are agreed prices rather than asking prices. Homelet removes the very cheapest and most expensive rental prices to avoid skewing the data.

Advantages

• The data is submitted from across the UK, which makes it broader than many England only indices.
• Monthly release makes it among the most up to date rental indices.
• It is the only index to provide information on tenant income, which is particularly useful to landlords.

Disadvantages

• There is too little analysis, with only London's rental property market coming under scrutiny
• The index is not widely publicised and its online presentation is not as user friendly as other indices.

Verdict

To compete with well-publicised indices such as LSL's Rental Tracker, Homelet needs to improve the promotion, presentation and analysis of its rental index, which offers a unique look at tenant income.

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