Advertised rents in London rose 8.7 percent year on year in July even as tenant enquiries per property fell by a third, according to new data from Hello Neighbour. For landlords, the latest reading points to a market where asking prices are still climbing but demand is no longer keeping pace.
Hello Neighbour said enquiries per property fell to 34 in July from 43 in June and 50 a year earlier. It also said the gap between advertised and achieved rents widened from 1.4 percentage points in June to 2.7 points in July, suggesting portal prices are pulling further away from what tenants actually agree to pay.
That matters now because the Renters’ Rights Act has changed how landlords price new lets. If asking rents are being pushed up by the bids ban and by tighter limits on in-tenancy rent increases, landlords who rely on headline portal figures could overprice fresh listings or overreach on future rent review evidence.
Asking rents keep rising as London demand cools
Hello Neighbour linked the divergence partly to the new rule preventing landlords and agents from accepting offers above the advertised rent. In practice, that creates an incentive to list slightly higher from the start, because the published figure is now the ceiling rather than the opening point for negotiation.
The data also suggests the cooling in demand is no longer a one-month blip. July is usually one of London’s busiest rental periods, yet the latest enquiry figure was not only below June but far below the 93 enquiries per property recorded in July 2023. Hello Neighbour said reduced net migration and affordability pressures were also weighing on tenant demand, even while supply remained broadly stable.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s Chestertons: 36% of London landlords raised asking rents after bids ban, which found some London landlords had already started lifting asking rents after the bids ban came in. The new figures suggest that behaviour is becoming more visible in the capital’s monthly rent data, even as applicants become more cautious.
Gap with achieved rents could shape landlord decisions
The widening spread between listed and signed rents may be the more important signal for landlords. As HomeLet: UK rents rise to £1,369 in July as London stays ahead showed earlier this week, achieved rents are still rising in London, but not as quickly as some advertised figures imply.
That matters for two reasons. First, landlords setting a fresh asking rent may face a longer void if they chase an inflated headline number in a market where enquiry levels are already slipping. Second, landlords preparing a Section 13 increase on a periodic tenancy need evidence of open market rent, and comparable properties that were merely advertised at optimistic levels may be less persuasive than real agreed lets.
Hello Neighbour’s full July 2026 London rent update argues the same legislation is pushing prices up in two ways: landlords are starting new tenancies at higher levels because in-tenancy increases are harder, and they are advertising above expected achieved rents because they can no longer accept bids over the listed amount.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re reletting in London: price against achieved comparables, not just portal listings, because demand is softer than the headline asking-rent growth suggests.
- Watch for: a further widening between advertised and achieved rents in late summer, which could increase void risk for overpriced stock.
- Bottom line: higher asking rents do not automatically mean a stronger market if tenant demand is falling and agreed rents are rising more slowly.
Editor’s view
The useful part of this release is not the 8.7 percent headline on its own. It is the widening gap underneath it. For landlords, that gap is where pricing mistakes now hide, especially in London where demand still looks high in absolute terms but is clearly cooling from the levels many agents grew used to.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 09 August 2026
Sources: Hello Neighbour, HomeLet
Related reading: Chestertons: 36% of London landlords raised asking rents after bids ban
