Leading prime London estate agents Russell Simpson has seen a surge in the short let market over recent months, recording a 30% rise in completions for rentals over a 6-week to 3-month period. The trend is being driven by a mixture of holidaymakers requiring a large home or pied-a-terre whilst visiting for an extended period or those looking for alternative accommodation during renovation works are undertaken at their principal residence.

Commenting on the trend, Ed Woolgar, Head of Lettings at Russell Simpson, said: “Short lets are incredibly common in wider London and especially in modern BTR developments. However, there is now a lot of demand from those looking for a substantial home or impressive apartment to use as a temporary base, so this is an offering we are going to be placing more focus on.”

Short lets also provide more flexibility to vendors looking to generate income from a property that has been on the sales market, whilst allowing them to continue to market their home and conduct viewings whilst temporary tenants are in-situ.

Due to the perfect storm of high demand and low stock, rental values have risen sharply in 2022, which is a further incentive for vendors to consider short lets. According to LonRes, house rental prices are up by 8% over the past 12 months, with one- and two-bedroom apartments rising by 19% and 22% respectively. Larger 2- and 3-bedroom flats have recorded the sharpest increase over a longer period (up 18% since 2019), highlighting their popularity, especially in the short-let market.

The most common short let secured by the Russell Simpson team is those moving due to renovation works at their home, with individuals often opting to let in the same building or on the same street.

Ed added: “We recently sourced a short let for a couple that lived in the same building, whilst they were conducting renovation works to their home. There is also a similar example on a prime road in Kensington where the individual had just purchased through us but had scheduled renovations ahead of moving in, so tasked us with finding them somewhere close by to rent for six months.”

Further aiding landlords, Russell Simpson recently launched its dedicated interior design arm, which can dress empty homes, both physically and digitally, to demonstrate their full potential or provide furniture for short- and long-term rental periods.