24% of UK households will be in the Private Rental Sector by 2020 - Vital information from - The Rent Check

Allsop and BDRC's The Rent Check report is essential reading for anyone wanting to get a handle on the current and future state of the Private Rented Sector (PRS). It provides a wealth of useful facts and figures as on the state of the current market as well as some sound analysis about where we are heading, combining landlord and tenant surveys with the policital and economic analysis.

The "barometer" Infographic gives you a quick view of the latest trends.

Here are some of my key takeaways from the report:

• Rents in England are up everywhere except for the North East, East and East Midlands, with greatest growth in the South East (few surprises there!)
• 29% landlords of landlords (that's almost 1 in 3!) intend to increase their property portfolio size in the next 12 months
• House prices have risen much faster than rents
• 24% of Households are set to be privately renting by 2020
• In London, more people will soon rent rather than own their homes, which has big consequences for society and the economy
• There's a huge case for investment in rented housing - with over £178bn needed to satisfy the underlying need
• Government is focusing primarily on Home Ownership, and risks ignoring a large part of society that will never be homeowners

To me, all this points to an increase in the number of properties that will need professional management and servicing over the next few years.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.