The share of tenants seeing their rent increased fell 23 percent in May, the first full month after the Renters Rights Act changed how landlords in England can raise rents, according to new Hamptons analysis of Connells lettings data.
The fresh disclosure matters because it is one of the first hard data points on how landlords reacted once the Act’s annual rent-review system went live on 1 May. Hamptons said there was little sign of a pre-deadline rush to push through higher rents before the rules changed, despite repeated warnings that some landlords might try to front-load rises.
For landlords, the early picture is less about a sudden collapse in pricing power and more about a change in timing. Rent reviews are now more regulated, more visible to tenants and more exposed to challenge, which means pricing decisions that were once folded into renewal negotiations now need a cleaner market-rent justification.
Hamptons says fewer sitting tenants are seeing rises
Hamptons found the number of rent increases recorded between January and April was 3 percent lower than in the same period a year earlier. If May’s pattern continued for the rest of 2026, around 31 percent of sitting tenants would see a rent rise this year, down from 40 percent in the 12 months to May 2025.
That points to an immediate behavioural shift after the Act ended the old pattern of linking many rent changes to contract renewals. Under the new regime, landlords can usually raise rent only once a year on existing tenancies, using the statutory Section 13 route and giving two months’ notice.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, said the figures suggested one of the first effects of the Act had been a reduction in the number of existing tenants seeing their rent go up. She said the slowdown partly reflected weaker rental growth overall, but also indicated landlords had – at least initially – been less likely to increase rents than under the previous system.
Landlords will also note that lower frequency does not mean lower individual increases. Among tenants whose rents did change in May, the average uplift was 5.4 percent. In Scotland, where a similar system has operated for longer, the average increase was 7.7 percent.
Annual reviews raise the stakes on rent-setting
The landlord takeaway is that each review now carries more weight. With fewer opportunities to reprice during a tenancy, some landlords may decide they need to be more exact about the level they ask for when the annual window opens, particularly where costs have risen or local supply is still tight.
That risk is already sitting alongside the wider compliance shift triggered by the Act. Landlord Knowledge recently reported on a new tenant-backed tribunal challenge tool for disputed rent rises, while separate Goodlord data showed rental inflation stayed at a 10-month low in May. Combined, those signals suggest landlords are entering a market where rent growth is cooler, but the scrutiny around how rises are handled is higher.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s June report on Scotland’s 7.7 percent average rent rise, which showed what a more mature annual-review system can look like once landlords adapt. The latest Hamptons figures suggest England is in the early adjustment phase rather than facing an immediate pricing shock.
The official rules are set out in Hamptons’ summary of the Renters Rights Act changes for landlords, including the ban on in-tenancy rent increase clauses and the move to market-rent based Section 13 notices.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re planning a 2026 rent review: keep clear evidence of local market comparables before serving a Section 13 notice.
- Watch for: more tenant challenges where landlords try to recover several years of cost pressure in a single annual increase.
- If your property is in a slower market: a missed pricing decision now may leave you waiting 12 months for the next routine increase.
- Bottom line: the Act has not stopped landlords raising rents, but it has made each increase harder to time casually.
Editor’s view
The early numbers do not show the rent spike many critics predicted before 1 May. But they do show something just as important for landlords: rent-setting is becoming a more deliberate compliance task, not an admin step tucked into a renewal.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 15 June 2026
Sources: Hamptons, Connells lettings data
Related reading: Tenant unions launch First-tier Tribunal rent challenge tool after RRA
📘 Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
Everything you need to know about the new rules – 1 May 2026
