Landlords are responding to tenant demand for lower rents in the South of England, according to new figures from the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).

Private rents have fallen by almost 45 per cent in the capital as tenants have lowered the price they are prepared to pay for rented accommodation.

By contrast, Manchester rents have shown a marginal increase of 9 per cent over the same period - reflecting the North / South picture on property prices which has also shown a cooling in the previously heated London market.

Rents in Leeds have also increased by 6.5 per cent while Bristol and the South West has shown a fall of 4.5 per cent.

However, with the price that tenants are prepared to pay for one, two and three bedroom reducing throughout the UK, it may only be a matter of time before the rest of the country's landlords are following London's lead and lowering rents.

The research was carried out by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) - which represents landlords who manage more than £1.2billion worth of property and 30,000 tenancies - via its homes2rent.net website, which allows landlords to post details of properties free of charge to ensure a wide range of information is available to tenants.

RLA chairman Martin Moylan explained: "The homes2rent.net site allows us to have a clear picture of the rental market in the UK. While rents have remained pretty stable and even shown a slight increase in the North of England it is clear that London-based landlords are going to have set their sights a bit lower in the coming months.

"When you compare the average rents that tenants are prepared to pay in 2003 compared to the same period last year you can see that in some cases they are expecting to pay between £50 and £100 less per room.

"If this trend continues then the scenario in London will surely be echoed elsewhere."

Martin Moylan added: "Homes2rent is free to landlords and tenants and the RLA is a non-profit making organisation so any information is completely unbiased. It is simply a record of housing needs and requirements in this country.

"As more and more people use homes2rent we will be able to supply authoritative figures on everything from the types of homes in demand to the typical prices tenants can expect to pay for rented homes, region by region."

Homes2rent was initially set up by the RLA because members felt there was a lack of information for landlords and tenants on the internet.

The site is helping to develop a marketplace where tenants can find property anywhere in the country free of charge while developing the free flow of information on what accommodation is available to rent within the private sector at any time.

The RLA, the country's leading voice in the private rented sector, has branches throughout the UK and holds regular meetings within 30 minutes drive of all members.

The group operates a strict code of practice for members so tenants can be assured that RLA members strive to offer the best quality accommodation and service.

ENDS April 2003