Despite recent interest rate rises and speculation about a housing market bust, there is little evidence that buy-to-let investors want to sell up says RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) whose latest survey of Britain’s rental market is published today.

In April, just 12% of landlords whose tenancies came up for renewal opted to sell-up rather than re-let; up slightly from 11% in October last year, prior to the first interest rate rise.

Within the last quarter, landlords who are new to the buy-to-let business owned 43% of property coming onto the market. In October the figure was 41 percent. At least 10% of all properties coming on the market were owned by landlords with five or more properties.

The North East in particular continues to be a hotbed of buy-to-let activity.

Stronger tenant demand is expected to continue to cause slight upward pressure on rents, with 7% more respondents expecting higher rents than a fall in the next three months, up from 6% in January.

Over the last 15 months demand for rented properties has increased at a moderate but steady rate. In April 23% more surveyors reported a rise in lettings activity than reported a fall, up from 20% in January. This is the most dramatic increase for three years.

Demand for rented property in London has been bolstered by improved corporate activity, which accounted for the largest share of lets since the survey began in 1999.

Over the last 12 months rents have increased gently. In April 8% more chartered surveyor estate agents reported higher rents than a fall. Although only up slightly from the January figures, it marks the biggest rise since October 2001.

The number of properties coming onto the market for rent remains fairly unchanged. In the three months to April, 22% more surveyors reported a rise in new instructions than a fall, from 21% in January.

Chartered surveyor and RICS residential lettings spokesman, Jeremy Leaf, added: “Buy-to-let remains as popular as ever, despite interest rate rises and the constant debate about an imminent threat of a burst in the housing market bubble.”

“There is also nothing in our monthly housing survey to suggest that owner-occupiers are selling their properties in order to rent in the short-term in the hope that prices drop before they purchase another property.”

“Rents are rising, but so are property prices and this has been reflected in the declining rental yields over the last nine months. The largest decline in yields has been reported in the northern regions.”

With more and more people entering the buy-to-let market as an alternative to other investments, RICS has published two step-by-step guides to understanding the basic legal and practical issues involved in either renting or letting a flat or house.

Jeremy Leaf says: “The market has been crying out for the information these leaflets provide. Many people try to set themselves up as landlords without having a clue about their legal obligations to their tenants, and how they should manage their property. This leaves them very exposed.”

“Equally, tenants may take on a property without properly thinking through what their total monthly bills will be or how to protect themselves against unscrupulous landlords. There has been a lot of publicity recently about landlords refusing to refund deposits when a tenant departs – our guide takes tenants through some simple do’s and don’ts which will help guard against unpleasant surprises.”

The RICS guides are available free of charge from RICS Contact Centre email: contactrics@rics.org, telephone: 0870 333 1600. Similar information can be found on the RICS website www.rics.org/public.