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Rental values are rising faster than underlying house prices in many of the world’s leading cities as demand from domestic and international corporate tenants in an increasingly supply-constrained global residential real estate market, with Paris now the most expensive city for tenants. 

The Savills World Class Cities Index recorded an average rental rise of 2.3 per cent in the second half of 2011, compared to a rise of just 1% for capital values, with values in the ‘old world’ markets outperforming the ‘new world’ destinations with a 2.8 per cent increase compared to 1.8 per cent. 

More than half of all landlords use a letting agent, but most are probably unaware whether any money they handle is being protected by a client money protection scheme.

As part of Safe Agent Awareness Week, the British Property Federation is reminding landlords that if their agent absconds with their rental income they may have little hope of recouping the money they lose, unless protected by a scheme.

Households are spending an average 38% of their take-home income on rent, with those in London spending 71%, according to new figures from FindaProperty.com.

Its latest Rental Index, shows the average asking price for renting in the UK is now £868 per month - 1% up on the same time last year, but below the record high of £890 in September 2011.

It is cheaper to rent than buy a prime property in the UK, according to research by PrimeLocation.com's new Prime Rental Index.

The average cost of renting a prime property in the UK is £1238, some £369 a month less than the mortgage for the average prime property.

Landlord Assist, the nationwide tenant eviction and rent collection firm, believes that landlords are likely to adopt a more cautious approach to their expansion plans now that the UK has technically slipped back into recession.

Over the past 18 months landlords have enjoyed favourable market conditions with tenant demand exceeding supply and interest rates at a record low level.

Landlords who do not handle their own property viewings could be missing a trick, according to research from lettings agency Upad.

Following the long-held simple belief that landlords are better than agents at showing tenants around their properties, Upad asked 382 tenants from across the UK if they agreed and discovered that a mere 15% would rather meet an agent for a viewing than deal directly with the landlord.

Following last week's data from the Office for National Statistics which confirmed the UK economy had returned to recession, one lettings firm said the rental sector continued to buck the trend.

Belvoir CEO Dorian Gonsalves said: "In financial terms Belvoir has not experienced a single dip recession in the lettings industry, let alone a double dip.

Five years after it became a legal requirement to protect tenants’ deposits in the private rental market, much of the "cultural" antagonism between landlords and tenants may be reducing.

And, now it is forecast that the number of authorised deposit protection schemes may increase both this year and again in 2016 and the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution widened.

New research from letting agents shows the UK is feeling the squeeze of the economic slowdown, as more tenants are struggling to pay their rents on time.

Four in ten members of the Association of Letting Agents reported an increase in the number of tenants struggling to meet their rental payments to landlords in the six months to March 2012.

With rents close to record levels across virtually all UK regions it is not, on the face of it, a bad time to be a landlord.

Continuing difficulties in the housing market are forcing many would-be sellers unable to find a buyer to look at alternative ways of dealing with their property problem.