Foxtons recorded 24 renters registering for every new London rental instruction in August, its highest competition reading of 2026, even as market new listings ran 2.9 percent ahead of a year earlier.
The agency’s August Lettings Market Index said renter registrations eased 3.0 percent from July, but July and August remained the busiest months of the year. It put the changed pattern down to activity being spread more evenly across the summer after the Renters’ Rights Act came into force.
London landlords are dealing with a longer peak-season letting window rather than a late-August rush, according to the agent’s data. That can affect launch dates, pricing decisions and how quickly an enquiry needs a response, particularly where several applicants are still competing for each instruction.
Competition reached 24 renters per new instruction
Foxtons said competition rose 22.4 percent during August to 24 renters per new instruction. The agency described this as the deepest pool of applicants for a newly marketed property so far this year, despite registrations sitting below the exceptional volumes recorded in 2025.
Across the year to date, it reported 17.9 renters per new listing, broadly level with last year. West London was the exception on registrations, rising 5.2 percent year-on-year while the London-wide figure was down 12.3 percent.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on Foxtons’ first-half Renters’ Rights Act disruption, which focused on the agency’s student-lettings revenue rather than demand for available homes. Landlord Knowledge’s June coverage of Propertymark’s renter-competition data also found that pressure on available rental stock remained high, though the measures and geographies are different.
Supply is ahead, but renters still face a crowded market
New instructions were 2.9 percent higher than in August 2025, although they fell 5.2 percent from July. Foxtons said every month of 2026 had produced more new listings than the equivalent month last year. Its report treats that as evidence that landlords have remained active in the London market through the run-up to the new tenancy rules and their first months in operation.
That conclusion is limited to Foxtons’ own London lettings activity and does not establish a market-wide change in landlord numbers. It is still a useful signal for owners setting an asking rent or deciding when to market a vacant property: extra choice for tenants has not removed competition for well-priced homes.
Renter budgets averaged £571 a week in August, down 1.9 percent on July. The year-to-date average was £561 a week, up 0.9 percent on 2025. Central London recorded £632 a week, up 4.2 percent, while one-bedroom flats had the largest property-type movement at 3.4 percent.
Renters’ Rights Act changes the seasonal pattern
Gareth Atkins, managing director of lettings at Foxtons, said the Act appeared to have brought some moves forward, particularly among students, spreading activity over July and August and easing the usual August peak. He added that 2026 was likely to be a year of adjustment rather than proof of a permanent pattern.
Landlords should be wary of treating one summer as a settled new timetable. The evidence does point to less value in waiting for a final four-week rush, while the high August competition figure supports prompt viewings, realistic rent setting and quick handling of complete applications.
Foxtons has published the August index through its Foxtons Group market update. The report is based on the agency’s London lettings data, not an official measure of all UK rental activity.
What this means for landlords
- If you have a London void: market early and make viewings and application decisions quickly while applicant competition remains high.
- Watch for: a longer July-August busy period rather than relying on the traditional late-summer peak, especially for student-linked homes.
- Bottom line: more instructions than last year have not stopped competition reaching 24 renters per new listing in Foxtons’ August data.
Editor’s view
Supply and demand are not moving in a neat line here. London landlords have more evidence that tenants have choices, but a well-presented home at a defensible rent can still attract serious competition. The timing of the work has changed more clearly than the strength of demand.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 25 September 2026
Sources: Foxtons Lettings Market Index, August 2026
Related reading: Foxtons says RRA cut first-half profit 57% after £3m hit
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