Renters facing 'horrifying' competition for homes

Zoe Prevel managed to find a house to rent after a stressful period of searching

Figures from a local estate agency show that on average, a rental property is available for between 24 to 48 hours before it is snapped up.

Director of Cooper Brouard, Cathy Gallienne, said "the demand is incredibly high, it's outstripping supply"

"When a property comes on the market, we'll have 50 to 100 applicants after it".

Mrs Gallienne said the trends in the rental market had changed since the Covid pandemic, "some of the landlords chose to sell their properties, which mean there was a lot less for people to rent".

'Horrifying'

High competition for rental properties has forced potential tenants to make quick decisions when applying for tenancies.

Zoe Prevel was given eight weeks to find a new place to stay after her landlord decided to sell up.

When Ms Prevel was told about a potential property, she viewed it the same day despite it being smaller and more expensive than her previous rental.

"I didn't look at any other places, I just snapped it up because I didn't want to miss out".

There are few pages on social media where people can advertise properties or rooms available, some posts have up to 50 comments.

"It was horrifying because we thought how are we ever going to find a place competing against all those people." Ms Prevel said.

Helena Filipczak said she receives around 10 queries per day for her rooms

Local landlady Helena Filipczak said when there is so much competition, it is often the "professional couple" who get chosen as tenants over the "family with children or pets".

"But it depends on the circumstances, if there is a family struggling and there is a risk this family is going to leave the island, I am trying to assist, I am trying to help" Mrs Filipczak said.