Rents across prime London markets rose in the build up to the Renters Rights Act.
That’s the claim by Knight Frank which says in the months before May 1 a number of landlords sold or took back possession of their property before the new rules came into effect.
Some others increased rents to reflect the new financial risks they face.
Average rental vales in prime outer London (POL) increased 3% in the year to April, which is the highest figure since June 2024, a period when annual growth was still coming down from the double-digit highs of the pandemic.
“Rental growth is being driven by a tightening supply backdrop” says Mel Constantinou, head of lettings in south-west London and the Home Counties at Knight Frank.
“The Renters Rights Act is accelerating this, as landlords refine pricing strategies and, in some cases, exit the market further constraining supply, while tenants increasingly stay put as choice continues to narrow.”
Average rents in prime central London increased by 1.1% in the year to April. Supply has been less constrained in higher-value markets as more discretionary owners let out their property due to the current weakness in the sales market.
Either way, the number of lettings listings in PCL and POL in Q1 2026 was 15% below the five-year average, Rightmove data shows.
Underlining the imbalance between supply and demand, there were 5.9 new prospective tenants for every new rental listing in April, Knight Frank data shows.
It was the highest figure since September 2022.
