Tenants Face Strain In Property Market Squeeze

House prices are expected to rise 6% next year but the strain will increasingly fall on private tenants, a new report predicts.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts a 6% rise in house prices next year - outpacing any rise in household income - in its annual forecast amid a squeeze on housing supply.

But it also sees a 3% increase in private rents and that this sector will come under increasing strain.

RICS members expect that rents could be rising by an average of 5% a year for the next five years, against 4.7% for house prices.

It appears to suggest that as the ambition of home ownership becomes further out of reach for many, renting will also become increasingly hard to afford.