Hamptons reveals new-let rents rise 2.4% as North tops £1,000

Hamptons has reported that the average rent agreed on a new tenancy in Great Britain reached £1,419 a month in August, up 2.4 percent on a year earlier and the fastest annual rise for almost two years.

The agency’s latest lettings figures also put the average new-let rent in the North above £1,000 a month for the first time. At £1,014, the regional average was 2.8 percent higher than a year earlier, while annual growth in Great Britain has accelerated for 10 consecutive months.

The widening gap between new and existing tenancies is the immediate issue for landlords. August’s figures put the average rent across all tenancies at £1,260, leaving a £159 monthly difference between a typical mover and a sitting tenant. That distinction matters when setting an asking rent, reviewing a renewal or assessing whether a void period is justified.

North crosses a new-let rent threshold

New tenancies in the North West averaged £1,080 a month in August, a 2.9 percent annual increase. Yorkshire and the Humber also rose 2.9 percent to £973, while the North East reached £907 after a 2.5 percent increase. The South West recorded the quickest regional growth at 5.4 percent, followed by the South East at 3.7 percent.

This follows Landlord Knowledge’s recent report on RICS rent expectations, which found surveyors expected rents to rise by around 3 percent over the next 12 months as landlord instructions declined. Hamptons’ new-tenancy data suggests that pressure is no longer confined to London or the highest-rent markets.

In the North, the move over £1,000 is a useful market marker rather than a licence to set a figure without testing local demand. An average combines property types and locations, and the same Hamptons series records different conditions across the North West, Yorkshire and the North East. Landlords weighing a re-let should still compare recent agreed rents for closely matched homes, not just advertised prices.

Existing tenancies still look different

Across all tenants, average rents rose 2 percent annually to £1,260. Where an existing tenant did receive an increase, the average uplift was 5.6 percent. Scotland recorded the largest average increase for existing tenants in August at 6.9 percent, although the average rent across all Scottish tenancies was £856, up 3.2 percent over the year.

Landlord Knowledge’s earlier coverage of rental demand and affordability cautioned that tenant budgets can restrain headline rent growth even when supply is tight. That remains the counterweight to the August new-let figures: a stronger rent on a fresh tenancy only improves returns if it can be achieved without extending the void.

The Hamptons Monthly Lettings Index data is based on achieved rents from homes let and managed by Countrywide, using a three-month rolling average and excluding the most expensive decile to reduce volatility. It is therefore a guide to rents actually agreed, not a record of every asking price in the market.

What this means for landlords

If a tenancy is ending: compare local achieved rents before pricing a replacement tenancy, especially where the regional average has moved quickly.
If offering a renewal: keep the £159 new-let and all-tenancy gap in mind, but check affordability and retention risk before assuming a new-let level is appropriate.
Watch for: regional divergence. A national 2.4 percent rise masks much faster growth in the South West and different rent levels across northern markets.
For portfolio planning: model rent assumptions against void costs and realistic letting periods, not headline growth alone.
Bottom line: August points to firmer new-let pricing, but comparable local lets remain the best test of what a property can achieve.

Editor’s view
Crossing £1,000 in the North will attract attention, but the more useful signal is the gap between a new tenancy and the wider tenant base. Landlords who treat that gap as automatic pricing power risk turning an encouraging rent figure into a longer void.

Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 15 September 2026

Sources: Hamptons Monthly Lettings Index
Related reading: RICS: rent expectations rise to 3% as landlord supply falls