‘Accidental’ landlords pushing down rents

The increase in ‘accidental landlords’ has pushed the average cost of renting down by more than 2 per cent during the first three months of the year. Research from Gumtree.com found a 19 per cent increase in the number of people advertising properties on their website, while average rents across the UK dropped 2.2 per cent, with the Oxford area seeing the biggest plunge of 6 per cent. London was down 3.6 per cent, while Manchester and Belfast saw rents drop by 2.9 per cent and in Brighton they were 2.7 per cent lower.