The let residential sector has seen a considerable improvement in income. As predicted by many forecasters, the residential rental sector continues to benefit from the ‘credit crunch’, particularly as estates provide high quality property at affordable prices for first time buyers unable to secure finance to purchase a property.

Over 10% of rural estates’ housing stock is let on protected tenancies, reflecting the level of subsidised affordable housing for key workers that estates provide to the local rural economy. Income from the residential sector now contributes over 40% of the total estate income or £36 per lowland acre (£89 per ha).

Our survey shows the average Short Assured Tenancy rent increased from £5,216 in 2010 to £5,498 per dwelling in 2011, reflecting 5.4% rental growth in 2011. The results demonstrate that void periods fell in 2011 to between 2% and 3% from the 5% recorded in 2010 – further evidence of strong demand for property to rent. Fair or regulated tenancy rents achieved similar increases of 5.1%, with an average rent of £3,731 per dwelling (see Graph 3). In England, the trend was similar with average annual rental income for Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) increasing 5% during 2011 to £8,300 per dwelling.

Taken from
Scottish Estate Benchmarking Survey 2011