Average rents outside London fell last quarter – but are predicted to rise over the course of 2026.

Rightmove says the average advertised rent of homes coming onto the market outside of London fell in Q4 2025 by 1.1%, equivalent to £15. 

It’s only the second quarter in the last five years where rents have fallen.

The average advertised rent now stands at £1,370 per calendar month.

The latest data means that at the end of 2025, average rents outside of London were 2.2% (+£29) higher than in 2024. 

This is the lowest that annual rental growth has been at the end of a year since 2018.

It’s the same story for the capital. 

Within London, average rents fell by 0.7% (-£20) in Q4 compared to the quarter before, taking the average advertised rent in London to £2,716. 

Average rents in London rose by 0.8% in 2025, the lowest annual rate of growth since 2020, when rents fell in London following the pandemic starting.

In 2025, rents rose the least in the North East (+0.4%) and London (+0.8%) and the most in the North West (+3.6%) and Yorkshire & The Humber (+3.1%).

What’s happening with rental market activity?

The total number of available homes to rent is currently 9% higher than last year. 

But long term the number of available rental properties has dropped by a third (-33%) compared with 10 years ago.

In terms of buying activity, the competition between tenants for rental homes has cooled and is less fierce than the pandemic years. 

2025’s average of ten enquiries for every available rental home is higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 average of six, but lower than 2024’s figure of 14.

What’s the outlook for 2026?

Rightmove predicts that average advertised rents will rise by a further 2% across the year. 

The balance between supply and demand has significantly improved since the pandemic, which has been a driver of 2025’s lower than usual yearly rent growth.

However, there is still a fundamental shortage of rental properties, which Rightmove expects to keep rents ticking upwards in 2026.