Winkworth says landlords now ask for a sale valuation each time a tenant gives notice, as the Renters’ Rights Act blocks sale-based evictions in the first 12 months of a new tenancy.
The agency’s Notting Hill office reports the pattern took hold in the first full quarter of the Act in force. Owners want a live sale price before re-letting, in case the next tenancy locks the property out of a sale for a year.
Across prime central London, three prospective tenants now register for every buyer, up from two last quarter. Lets above £3,000 a week hit a record high over the past year as would-be buyers rent instead.
Twelve-month sale bar drives valuation requests
Under the post-1 May rules, a new tenancy cannot be ended for sale purposes within its first year. Winkworth says that single restriction explains why sale valuations now accompany most void instructions, even where landlords have no firm plan to sell.
The agency stresses few landlords are quitting outright. Instead they are hedging, keeping one eye on sale values while re-letting. Requests for lettings valuations rose by about a quarter year on year as owners unable to sell, or unwilling to accept current bids, switched to letting.
Below £100,000 annual rent, short lets have lost much of their premium now that tenants can give two months’ notice at any point. Owners in that bracket face a straight choice between a secure long let and a discounted short let.
Tenants outnumber buyers three to one
Winkworth describes many third-quarter tenants as buyers in all but name, renting while they monitor sale prices for cuts. Families from outside London renting a city base for university terms added to demand, alongside workers delaying purchases until after the 28 October Budget.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report on Chestertons finding a quarter of London landlords re-let after a failed sale bid, which showed the same hesitate-and-hold behaviour from a different sample. The Winkworth figures suggest the pattern hardened through the summer.
Prime stock also attracted displaced sellers. Landlord Knowledge’s coverage of Savills on prime rents rebounding as sub-£100,000 stock tightens found supply shifting toward higher brackets, supporting record top-end letting activity.
What this means for landlords
- If a tenant serves notice: get parallel sale and lettings valuations before re-letting, since a new tenancy blocks a sale exit for 12 months.
- If you may sell within a year: take advice before granting a new tenancy, as the timing of the let now sets the earliest sale vacant-possession date.
- Watch pricing power: three tenants per buyer in prime London favours realistic asking rents, with voids costlier than small reductions.
- Review short-let plans: below £100,000 annual rent the premium has thinned, so model net yield on an assured periodic tenancy instead.
- Bottom line: treat every void as a sale-or-let decision with a 12-month lock-in – see Winkworth’s latest London market update.
Editor’s view
The Act has not triggered a London firesale, but it has forced a new discipline. Landlords who once let first and thought about selling later must now decide the exit before signing the tenancy.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 22 October 2026
Sources: Winkworth, Chestertons, Savills
Related reading: Rightmove: advertised rents break £1,400 as London hits £2,825
📘 Renters’ Rights Act: Complete Landlord Guide
Everything you need to know about the new rules – 1 May 2026
