Advertised rents have hit new records in London and across Great Britain outside the capital, while rental supply has slipped below last year’s level for the first time since 2022, according to Rightmove’s latest tracker.
Rightmove said average asking rents outside London rose 1.9 percent over the second quarter to £1,397 a month, while London rose 2 percent to a record £2,791. At the same time, the number of homes available to rent nationally was 1 percent lower than a year earlier, ending a run of annual supply growth that had lasted since 2022.
For landlords, the update matters because it shows rent growth has firmed again just as the supply rebound stalls. That does not point to the frenzy seen in 2022, but it does suggest pricing power is still strongest in tighter regional markets and that fresh stock is not arriving fast enough to keep rents flat.
Rightmove says supply has turned down again
The portal said this was the first quarterly rent record outside London since the third quarter of 2025. Annual growth outside the capital accelerated to 2.3 percent from 1.6 percent in the previous quarter, while London’s annual growth reached 2.9 percent.
Rightmove said the national stock of available rental homes was down 1 percent on a year earlier because fewer newly listed properties came to market, not because homes were being let dramatically faster. A typical rental listing received 10 enquiries, down from 11 a year earlier and far below the 22 seen at the height of the post-pandemic squeeze.
That leaves the market in a more balanced position than during the scramble of 2022, but still well above pre-pandemic norms. Before Covid, the average was five enquiries per available home.
Regional gaps are still doing the work
Rightmove said annual advertised rent growth reached 4.1 percent in both the North East and North West, compared with 1.5 percent in the East Midlands and East of England. London saw the biggest quarterly rise since 2023, driven by inner London, but also recorded the lowest average number of enquiries per available home at eight.
That split matters for landlords weighing rent reviews or acquisitions. In some northern regions, growth still looks strong enough to offset cost pressure. In more expensive markets, tenants are becoming more price-conscious and stock levels are more sensitive to affordability.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s coverage of Propertymark’s June affordability tracker, which found the salary needed to rent in London had eased from peak levels even as rents stayed high. It also fits with Landlord Knowledge’s recent report on rising tenant demand and tight landlord supply. Taken together, the latest Rightmove figures suggest the market has cooled from crisis levels without solving the stock problem that keeps rents elevated.
Rightmove also noted that its daily buy-to-let mortgage tracker showed average mortgage rates at 5.55 percent, down from 5.67 percent a month earlier but above the 5.20 percent recorded a year ago. So while rental growth has picked up, landlords are still not getting the cost backdrop they enjoyed before rates reset.
Landlords can review the latest Rightmove rental price tracker for the underlying regional data.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re reviewing rents: local supply matters more than the national headline, so benchmark against your region before pushing hard.
- If you’re buying: tighter stock and lower mortgage rates than last month may support selective deals, but affordability caps still bite in pricier areas.
- Watch for: whether the drop in new listings continues into late summer, because that would keep pressure on autumn rents.
- If you manage voids: the market is calmer than in 2022, so presentation and pricing discipline matter more again.
- Bottom line: rents are still rising, but landlords should not mistake a firm market for a no-brainer pricing environment.
Editor’s view
Record rents make an easy headline, but the more useful signal is the supply reversal. If fresh rental stock is already slipping again, landlords should expect regional pricing gaps to stay wide rather than converge.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 16 July 2026
Sources: Rightmove
Related reading: RICS says June tenant demand rose as landlord supply stayed tight
