London landlords added more stock to the rental market in April even as the Renters’ Rights Act came into force, with Foxtons reporting that new listings rose 3.7 percent year on year while achieved rents stayed flat.
London supply held up as the new rules arrived
For landlords, the striking part of Foxtons’ April data is not that the market stayed busy. It is that supply stayed ahead of last year at the exact point many expected the new regime to start weighing on confidence. In its earlier warning that the Renters’ Rights Act would push more landlords towards agents, Landlord Knowledge highlighted how compliance pressure was already reshaping decisions before the law took effect.
Foxtons says new listings were up 3.7 percent on April 2025, even though they dipped 6.0 percent month on month after the early spring peak. Applicant registrations rose 9.5 percent through the month, but demand still finished 6.0 percent below the same point last year. That matters because it cuts against the easy headline that post-RRA trading has been uniformly strong.
Landlords have more choice on the supply side than they did a year ago, but tenants are not chasing every listing in the same way. Foxtons says renters per instruction were down 6.5 percent year on year, which points to less frantic competition than many landlords grew used to during the tighter post-pandemic market.
Rents were flat, and that is the real warning for landlords
The steadiness in rents may be more important than the rise in listings. Average rent achieved was £571 per week in April, flat year on year and only 0.5 percent higher than March. For landlords facing higher compliance costs, flat rents leave less room for mistakes on pricing, presentation and void management.
That is why the latest figures sit neatly alongside Landlord Knowledge’s March coverage of Foxtons’ earlier London supply recovery. Back then, the story was about stock returning. Now the more useful point is what that stock is doing once it reaches the market. More listings have not produced obvious rental inflation. Instead, they appear to be giving tenants more room to compare, delay and negotiate.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s recent report on Grainger’s view that the Renters’ Rights Act is likely to shift market share away from smaller landlords. Foxtons’ latest numbers suggest the same pattern may already be visible in London: supply has not collapsed, but landlords are working in a market where tenants are more selective and operational standards matter more.
That also means landlords should be careful about reading too much into one month of resilience. The Foxtons report covers April, described by the agency as the point just ahead of the Act taking effect on 1 May, and the first few weeks of any rule change rarely tell the whole story. The more telling detail is that demand has improved month on month without fully recovering year on year. That leaves landlords with activity, but not much pricing power.
The primary source for the figures is Foxtons’ April 2026 London lettings market report, which says stable budgets and rents are putting more weight on accurate pricing and a clean launch. For landlords, that is a practical message rather than a sales line. In a flatter market, poor presentation and over-optimistic asking rents will be punished faster.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re reletting in London: Do not assume demand alone will cover weak presentation or ambitious pricing. Tenants appear more selective than a year ago.
- If you’re weighing self-management: The market is still active, but the margin for compliance or marketing mistakes looks thinner under the new regime.
- Watch for: Whether rents stay flat into summer even if applicant numbers keep improving.
- Bottom line: London lettings have not stalled after the RRA, but resilience is not the same as landlord pricing power.
Editor’s view
April’s numbers are better than many landlords feared, but they are not a green light to relax. A market with steady rents and pickier tenants tends to reward the best-run stock and expose everything else.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 20 May 2026
Sources: Foxtons April 2026 London lettings market report
Related reading: Grainger says RRA is shifting share from smaller landlords
📘 Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
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