A lettings agency says rental growth across London has not so far been impacted by the Renters Rights Act.

Benham and Reeves says rents have increased an average 0.7% since the Act won Royal Asset last October – the same rate of growth seen during the equivalent period prior to October of last year. 

In fact, the majority of London boroughs have actually seen the pace of rental growth slow since the legislation became law.

However, while top line rental growth across the capital has remained unchanged, a borough-by-borough analysis reveals that 18 of London’s 32 boroughs have actually seen the pace of rental growth slow since the legislation came into effect.

Kingston upon Thames has seen the largest reduction in rental growth. Between May and October 2025, rents increased by 2.9%, but fell by -1.9% in the five months following Royal Assent, representing a 4.8 percentage point slowdown in the rate of rental growth.

Camden also saw a notable shift, with rents declining by -5.0% following Royal Assent compared to a fall of -1.0% during the previous five-month period.

Havering saw rental growth slow from 3.5% to 0.3%, whilst Bexley saw growth ease from 3.9% to 1.1%. Westminster and Barking & Dagenham also ranked amongst the boroughs to see the most notable reduction in the rate of rental growth following the introduction of the legislation.

Whilst the majority of boroughs saw rental growth cool, a handful recorded an acceleration.

Brent stands out in this respect, having seen rents fall by -5.2% during the five months prior to Royal Assent, rental values increased by 2.2% in the five months that followed, representing a swing of 7.4 percentage points.

Elsewhere, Richmond upon Thames saw the pace of rental growth increase by 2.5 percentage points, whilst Southwark (+2.3 percentage points), Greenwich (+2.0 percentage points), Waltham Forest (+1.8 percentage points) and Islington (+1.7 percentage points) also saw stronger growth following Royal Assent of the Renters’ Rights Act.