The number of available rental homes dropped below the previous year’s level in the second quarter of 2026 – for the first time in four years.

The data, from Rightmove, suggests that in the post-pandemic market, the number of homes to rent reached record low levels and had been steadily increasing since. 

However, the total number of homes to rent is now 1% lower than a year ago.

The decline in overall rental supply appears to be driven more by a drop in newly listed properties for rent, rather than an increase in the speed of the market.

This coincides with the long-awaited introduction of the Renters Rights Act, much of which was implemented on May 1.

Despite this drop, overall, the balance between supply and demand in the rental market appears to be stabilising. 

Competition between tenants remains significantly lower than at its peak, with the average rental home now receiving 10 enquiries, compared with 11 a year ago and 22 at the height of the market in 2022.

Even so, today’s figure is still higher than the pre-pandemic average of five enquiries per home.

But the portal stresses that these are national figures, and the rental market is still seeing large regional differentiations.

Northern regions continue to outperform in terms of annual rent growth, with the North East and North West both recording annual rent increases of 4.1%. 

This compares to 1.5% in East Midlands and East of England.

London currently has the closest balance between supply and demand, with an average of eight enquiries per rental property. 

By contrast, the North West is seeing the largest mismatch, with an average of 14 enquiries per property, highlighting continued strong demand relative to the number of homes available to rent.

Rightmove adds that the average advertised rent of homes coming onto the market outside London rose by 1.9% in Q2 to a new record of £1,397 per calendar month. Average advertised rents outside London are now 2.3% higher than a year ago, up from annual growth of 1.6% in Q1.