Rents are rising in Scotland as a shortage of good quality properties means tenants have less choice, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has claimed.

RICS Scotland said yesterday that interest in house-buying had dropped.

Many would-be buyers were still locked out of the sales market, it said, and demand was outstripping supply, especially in the city centres.

In the three months to July, the amount of new properties coming on to the market was little changed compared with the preceding period.

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The cost of renting a property has grown by 5.9 percent over the last twelve months, according to chartered surveyors across Scotland, and the trend looks set to continue as rents could rise by almost 5% over the next year.

Gross yields have edged upwards this year so far, and just 1% of landlords (fewer than in other years) have opted to sell their properties at the end of their tenancy.

Director of RICS Scotland Sarah Spiers said renting demand had started to slow "gradually" and called for new stock to be sold.

She said: "While tenant interest is still riding high, what remains to be seen is whether many are willing to meet the increasing rents being demanded by landlords.

"However, it is clear that we have seen rents grow steadily right across Scotland for some time. This is partly down to the problem of the scarcity of mortgage finance and the large deposits required by lenders.

"These barriers to home ownership need to be addressed alongside the shortage of new stock coming to the market."

(NE)