Hire controls launched in Scotland in 2022, designed to cap hire will increase, seem to have had the other impact, with most landlords now elevating rents on an annual foundation.
Analysing information from throughout the Connells group, Hamptons discovered that Scottish landlords usually tend to have elevated rents than in England & Wales throughout each 2024 and 2025. Thus far this 12 months, 67% of landlords in Scotland raised the hire after they had the power to take action, the best determine for any area and above the 58% who did so throughout Nice Britain as a complete.
Scotland is one among solely two areas in Nice Britain the place rents on newly let properties rose by greater than 2% over the previous 12 months.
Between September 2022 to April 2023, hire will increase for current tenants in Scotland had been capped at 0%. And from April 2023 to April 2024, will increase had been capped at 3%. Since April 2024, hire will increase have been restricted to the bottom of:
+ The ‘open market hire’
+ The hire proposed by the owner
+ Or the ‘permitted hire’ the place the tenant is paying not less than 6% beneath the market charge.
In contrast, for the third consecutive month, rents on newly let houses have fallen nationally on an annual foundation, highlighting the divergent developments between Scotland and the remainder of Nice Britain.
Chart 1 – Share of landlords rising the hire on contract renewal
Supply: Hamptons
*At the moment in England, ASTs are normally renewed yearly, whereas in Scotland discover will be served every year to extend the hire.
Desk 1 – Share of landlords rising the hire on contract renewal*
| 2025 YTD | |
| Scotland | 67% |
| West Midlands | 62% |
| Japanese | 62% |
| North East | 61% |
| South East | 61% |
| North West | 61% |
| East Midlands | 60% |
| London | 59% |
| Wales | 57% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | 51% |
| South West | 51% |
| Nice Britain | 58% |
Supply: Hamptons
For these landlords who did increase their hire, the scale of the typical enhance was truly decrease in Scotland (10.1%) in comparison with the Nice Britain common (12.2%). However, Scotland’s total common rental development is larger as a higher share of landlords in Scotland selected to extend rents during the last 12 months.
Since June 2025, the tempo of rental development on new lets has picked up in Scotland, regardless of rents falling throughout Nice Britain. Scottish rents rose by 2.5% from the identical time final 12 months, one among solely two areas in Nice Britain the place rents rose by greater than 2% during the last 12 months.
Wanting particularly at what has occurred to rents for the reason that 3% cap on rental will increase in Scotland was loosened in April 2024, exhibits that rents on new permits Scotland have risen by 7.3%, a rise solely surpassed by the North East of England.
Chart 2 – Cumulative rental development since April 2024 (new lets)
Supply: Hamptons
And even wanting long term, newly agreed rents in Scotland are up 36% during the last 5 years, larger than the 32% enhance throughout Nice Britain. It’s the same story for renewals too, with the typical value of renewed contracts rising 32% during the last 5 years in Scotland in comparison with 29% throughout Nice Britain.
For the third consecutive month, rental development for newly let houses has been damaging throughout Nice Britain. Within the 12 months to October 2025, the typical month-to-month value of a newly let house fell by 0.5% to £1,399. This marks the one-year anniversary of rents reaching their all-time peak of £1,406 a month nationally.
Chart 3 – Annual change in the price of newly agreed and renewal rents
Supply: Hamptons
Rents have been falling in Interior London for the reason that starting of this 12 months and now stand at £2,795, £135pcm beneath their peak final 12 months. Rents in Outer London have been following this downward path for the reason that summer time.
Rents within the South East of England had been flat in comparison with final 12 months (0.0% development), within the South West, rental development was 0.3% and within the East of England, rents grew by 0.8%. This implies rents might fall in different areas throughout the South of England within the coming months.
In October, there have been 12% fewer tenants on the lookout for a brand new house nationally, a metric which has been damaging for the previous three months in all three southern areas exterior London (South East, South West, and East of England). In the meantime, there have been 8% extra houses accessible to let in October than 12 months in the past.
Rental development for tenants renewing their contracts in Nice Britain continues to develop at a charge of 4% year-on-year, with rents reaching a brand new peak of £1,310pcm. Even within the capital, the place newly agreed rents are falling, the price of renewing a contract rose by 3.2% during the last 12 months.
Annual rental development by area – October 2025
| Area | New lets | Renewals | ||
| Common month-to-month hire | YoY % | Common month-to-month hire | YoY % | |
| Larger London | £2,349 | -2.7% | £2,279 | 3.2% |
| Interior London | £2,795 | -4.6% | £2,801 | 3.0% |
| Outer London | £2,021 | -1.0% | £1,895 | 3.3% |
| South | £1,362 | 0.3% | £1,275 | 3.9% |
| East of England | £1,272 | 0.8% | £1,242 | 5.7% |
| South East | £1,477 | 0.0% | £1,379 | 2.9% |
| South West | £1,277 | 0.3% | £1,150 | 3.9% |
| Midlands | £1,056 | 1.4% | £965 | 5.9% |
| East Midlands | £1,005 | 0.5% | £919 | 5.3% |
| West Midlands | £1,100 | 2.0% | £1,004 | 6.4% |
| North | £996 | 1.4% | £884 | 4.6% |
| North East | £928 | 3.8% | £756 | 6.6% |
| North West | £1,051 | 1.3% | £915 | 4.5% |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | £953 | 0.5% | £900 | 4.0% |
| Wales | £876 | -0.2% | £817 | 2.6% |
| Scotland | £1,067 | 2.5% | £875 | 3.6% |
| Nice Britain | £1,399 | -0.5% | £1,310 | 4.0% |
| Nice Britain (Exc London) | £1,156 | 0.8% | £1,062 | 4.4% |
Supply: Hamptons
David Fell, lead analyst, at Hamptons, mentioned: “The proof from Scotland means that hire controls not often work as meant. At finest, they delay hire will increase; at worst, they set a brand new benchmark the place landlords really feel compelled to extend their rents yearly by the utmost allowed. Confronted with uncertainty over future guidelines, many landlords select to boost rents little and sometimes reasonably than threat falling far beneath market ranges.
“Whereas the Renters’ Rights Act will give tenants extra time and energy to problem rents at tribunal, the proof suggests caps are solely a sticking plaster. Long run, the one approach of constructing rents extra reasonably priced is to extend the variety of houses accessible to hire and increase competitors amongst landlords for tenants.
“Regardless of rents falling yearly for the third straight month, landlords are nonetheless managing to agree above inflation will increase in terms of contract renewals. Usually, these are lowering the hole that opened up over the Pandemic between what tenants are presently paying, and what the property would obtain if it was re-let to a brand new tenant.”
