Rental demand has fallen sharply this 12 months because the hole between provide and demand within the personal rented sector continues to slender, in accordance with Zoopla’s newest Rental Market Report.
Annual rental progress slowed to 2.2% on the finish of October 2025, down from 3.3% a 12 months earlier, marking the weakest tempo of enhance in a number of years. Common UK rents now stand at £1,320 per thirty days, £30 larger than final 12 months.
Demand for rented houses has dropped by 20% over the previous 12 months. Zoopla attributes the decline to 2 key elements: a steep discount in internet migration and improved mortgage affordability for first-time patrons.
Provisional ONS figures point out that internet migration fell by 78% between June 2023 and June 2025, considerably decreasing stress on the rental market. On the similar time, decrease mortgage charges and easing lending circumstances have inspired extra first-time patrons to enter the market.
The variety of first-time patrons buying houses is on the right track to be 20% larger in 2025, with many shifting out of the rental sector and liberating up inventory. Because of this, the provision of rental properties has improved, with 15% extra houses accessible to let than a 12 months in the past.
Letting brokers now have a median of 14 houses for hire per department, up from a low of eight in 2022, although nonetheless beneath the pre-pandemic common of 17.
Demand for rented houses falls
The time it takes for a property to hire is a key barometer of rental market well being and signifies how provide and demand are shifting in actual time. The time to hire has been rising, with the typical residence staying available on the market for 17 days earlier than being rented. That is nearly a fifth larger (18%) than a 12 months in the past and 42% longer than throughout the demand increase for rented houses throughout the pandemic.
The time to hire has elevated throughout all areas and nations of the UK because the stress on the rental market has cooled, with the typical starting from 14 days in Scotland to 19 within the West Midlands. Longer occasions to let will restrict how a lot rents will be elevated, which implies decrease ranges of rental progress over 2026.
Time to hire (days), UK – November common annually
Rental inflation throughout the areas and nations of Nice Britain has slowed over the past 12 months. General, rental progress is strongest in lower-value markets the place affordability supplies extra headroom for rental will increase, whereas higher-value areas are seeing slower progress as stretched affordability limits additional hire rises.
At a rustic and area stage, rents are rising quickest within the North East (4.5%) and North West (3.2%), whereas progress is weakest in London (1.6%) and within the West Midlands and Scotland (each 1.7%).
The modifications in provide and demand don’t play out equally throughout the nation. Some native markets are registering a decline in rents for brand new lets, with rents decrease than a 12 months in the past within the Birmingham (-1.5%) and Dundee (-1%) postal areas. In distinction, rents are rising quickest in Carlisle (8.1%), Chester (7.4%) and Motherwell (7%). These variations mirror the affordability of rents relative to native incomes, in addition to demand and provide.
Richard Donnell, govt director at Zoopla stated: “The rental market has made a giant stride again in the direction of normality over 2025 after a protracted interval of sky-high demand and a scarcity of houses for hire. That is welcome reduction for renters who can anticipate to see a better alternative of houses, slower hire will increase and a much less aggressive market.
“Nonetheless, the excessive prices of shopping for a house stay a barrier to many renters, which can assist demand for renting over 2026. Whereas there are indicators that landlords are shopping for houses once more, we don’t anticipate a giant enhance in provide, that means rents are set to extend by 2.5% over 2026.”
Rents and rental inflation – areas and nations
|
Nation/area |
Common hire October 2025 |
Rental inflation %yoy Oct-25 |
Rental inflation %yoy Oct-24 |
|
London |
£2,224 |
1.6% |
1.0% |
|
Scotland |
£882 |
1.7% |
4.8% |
|
West Midlands |
£986 |
1.7% |
4.5% |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
£869 |
1.8% |
4.1% |
|
East Midlands |
£923 |
1.9% |
3.0% |
|
South East |
£1,397 |
2.1% |
4.0% |
|
Wales |
£945 |
2.4% |
4.3% |
|
Jap |
£1,263 |
2.5% |
4.7% |
|
South West |
£1,149 |
3.0% |
3.8% |
|
North West |
£955 |
3.2% |
5.2% |
|
North East |
£760 |
4.5% |
7.4% |
|
Northern Eire |
£854 |
11.0% |
7.4% |
|
United Kingdom |
£1,318 |
2.2% |
3.3% |
Supply: Zoopla Rental Index, October 2025
