Solicitors in Northern Ireland are likely to see more landlords needing legal advice on commercial property as spiralling house prices in the province have forced more people to rent.

Belfast solicitors in particular are likely to serve buy-to-let investors, as property prices in Belfast have reached levels where they are unaffordable to most.

According to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) Lettings Market Survey,
The number of landlords adding to their portfolios is increasing as rental growth has reached record levels.

Conversely, despite previously spiralling property prices pushing new buyers out of the market, the current slowing down of the housing market is also putting some would-be purchasers off, as fears of a crash are bandied about, according to Rics.

Some 29 per cent more chartered surveyors said tenant lettings had increased rather than fallen, an increase of 14 per cent since the last quarter. Accordingly, new landlord instructions rose by 20 per cent in the second quarter, marking the first time they have topped the long-run average of 16 per cent in 15 months.

As such, surveyors predict rents to reach record growth rates over the coming months.

Rics spokesperson Jeremy Leaf commented: "Current economic uncertainty has created an ideal platform for buy-to-let investors to cash in on rising rental levels. Many would-be buyers have decided to wait and see how the interest rate cycle will affect the market.

"Rising rents are offering some compensation for landlords that are experiencing higher borrowing costs although buy-to-let investment will struggle for funding in 2008 as lenders become more discriminating, especially for 'sub prime' properties."




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