DESPITE a sharp rise in the cost of renting properties in Waltham Forest at the tail end of last year prices are beginning to fall as people struggle to sell their homes, according to a local expert.

It currently costs an average of £892 to rent a two-bedroom home in the borough, which is cheaper than in all but six London boroughs, but prices increased by 13.5 per cent at the tail end of last year, according to letting website Spareroom.

Barry Tonks. manager and partner of WJ Meade Estate Agents in Highams Park, said: “We’ve got a lot of new properties and new landlords that wouldn’t usually be in the lettings market.”

He said: “It’s backed up by difficulty in achieving sales. If people need to move, they’re having to enter the rental market and it’s adding another 25 per cent to our lettings stock.

“The more stock we’ve got, the more prices come down.”

There have also been reductions in rent when tenants renew contracts, Mr Tonks said, with three-bedroom houses that previously would have fetched £1,200 a month now taking between £950 and £1,000.

“It’s supply and demand. The credit crunch is affecting people as well so a lot more people who would be entering the market are now choosing to stay at home with mum and dad. We’ve got fewer tenants looking and more properties available.”

He added that potential renters were just as wary of the economy as potential home-buyers and that they could be just as hesitant to sign a lease as to take out a mortgage.

“There are similar implications,” Mr Tonks said.

“You can be taken to court for not paying your rent or have the bailiffs sent round.”

And with rent down between 10 and 15 per cent since 2008, properties that would have been let within 14 days are now taking as long as 21 days to be snapped up.

“It’s all price relative,” Mr Tonks said.

“The British public like a deal and want a bargain. They want 50 per cent off on the high street and they’re applying the same mentality here.”