The latest market analysis by lettings service Dwelly shows tenant demand continued to climb across the rental sector during the third quarter of this year. 

West Sussex was home to the highest demand, whilst Rutland saw the largest quarterly increase.

The service’s Rental Demand Index analyses tenant demand across each county in England, looking at what proportion of total rental market listings have already been marked as ‘let agreed’.

This shows that across England as a whole, just under a third (31%) of all rental properties had been snapped up by tenants in Q3 – a 1.7% increase on the previous quarter.

The hottest spot for tenant demand was West Sussex, where 47.2% of all rental listings were already let. 

Cumbria follows closely at 41.3%, while Somerset (41.8%), Suffolk (41.4%), Wiltshire (43.0%) and Hampshire (40.5%) also rank among the areas with the highest demand for rental homes. 

In contrast, Nottinghamshire was the coldest spot of the rental market in Q3, where fewer than one in five (18.4%) of rental properties had found a tenant. 

When it comes to the sharpest quarterly increases, Rutland has seen demand climb by 9.2% in the last quarter, with the City of London up 8.6% and Northumberland up 6.5%. 

Norfolk has also enjoyed a 4.5% uplift, with Greater London not far behind at 4.4%.

At the other end of the spectrum, Herefordshire has recorded the largest quarterly decline, with demand falling by 12%. 

The Isle of Wight has dropped by 9.8%, Cornwall is down 7.5%, Gloucestershire has fallen 5.6%, and North Yorkshire is down 5.3%.

A Dwelly spokesperson says: “For landlords, this demonstrates that the fundamentals of the market remain strong. Even with legislative changes on the horizon, there is no shortage of tenants needing homes, which means rental returns remain resilient. The real challenge is ensuring that properties are managed in a way that keeps pace with both tenant demand and regulatory requirements.

“This is where letting agents have a vital role to play. By adopting the right processes and technology, they can help landlords reduce the administrative burden, stay compliant and, most importantly, improve the overall tenant experience.”